


Breathless

by GerdenGerudo



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2019-10-02 17:26:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 51,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17268320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GerdenGerudo/pseuds/GerdenGerudo
Summary: Long ago, the kingdom of Hyrule fell to the Great Calamity.One hundred years later, the light of Hyrule awakens from her slumber.





	1. The Great Plateau

**Author's Note:**

> A new year, a new start and a new story. I need to move away from my other stories for now and have been planning this story out since the summer.  
> Enjoy.

_...ake..._

In the darkness, the quiet voice echoes around her.

_...ime to wake..._

It is a male’s voice. He sounds strained and exhausted.

_Time to wake up._

Her eyes flutter open, blinded by a blue-white light above her. Her vision slowly clears, letting her see a large stone chamber. She lies in a tub, the bright blue water slowly draining out from under her. She struggles to sit up, feeling unbalanced. She looks down at herself and finds out why.

She has no left arm. She brings her right hand up to rub the stump at her shoulder, frowning. This isn’t right, but she can’t remember why. She can’t remember much of anything, but her drowsy mind won’t let her linger on it any longer. She grips the side of the tub and pulls herself out, shivering.

When she leaves the tub, she is quick to spot the pedestal by the door. It glows with illuminated orange runes, the center indented inward. When she reaches it, she hears his voice again.

_This is the Sheikah Slate. It will guide you now._

Her heart pounds with excitement as she takes the Slate by the handle. She turns it around, seeing an eye symbol on the back. Turning it back over, a smooth, glass-like surface reflects her face back to her. The device comes to life, shining a soft blue glow.

As the pedestal flips back into place, the door to her right opens. She glances around, tripping over a chest placed on the other side. Massaging her nose, and checking to ensure the Slate didn’t break, she turns over and glares at the chest. She stands and opens it, her glare lessening when she sees clothes sitting at the bottom. She places the Slate on the ground before pulling them out; a torn shirt, ragged pants and flat sandles.

Getting the clothes on proves to be a difficult task, but she at last manages to dress herself. The only thing she cannot get on is the belt meant to go across her torso, so she discards it and slips the Sheikah Slate onto the belt around her waste. She walks to another door, where another pedestal sits.

 _Use the Sheikah Slate on the pedestal to open the way._ She places it face-down, blinking when light floods from above. _You are the hope for the kingdom, the last remaining light. Go now and know the Goddess watches over you._

She walks up the sloping tunnel, blocking the sun out when she walks out.

A warm breeze ruffles her hair and clothes as she comes to an outcropping, feeling awe as she looks out across a vast land. Fields of lush green grass, forests of tall trees, colossal mountains in the distance and-

The ruins of a castle, coated in dark clouds.

She stares for a few moments before tearing her eyes away. Sitting at the bottom of a hill is a hooded man with a full white beard, a lantern hanging off his cane. He sits by a lit fire and she hesitates a moment before making her way towards him. She isn’t sure if she can trust him, but she needs to understand what is going on.

“Hello, sir?” He looks up at her, but she notices he avoids eye contact. From what she can see, his brown eyes look sad. “May I ask where I am?”

“You are on the Great Plateau, my dear,” he says, sitting up straighter. “This is the sacred birthplace of all of Hyrule.” He slowly stands up, looking over the horizon of his alcove. “Beyond this hill is the Temple of Time. Once it was the very heart of Hyrule. However, it has been decaying over many years of neglect.” He sadly turns back to her, his eyes still not meeting her gaze. “Alas, it is another ghost of Hyrule’s past. But enough about the past. What is your name, my dear?”

Her name? She frowns, brow furrowed as she slowly stares at the ground. After a moment, she remembers. “My name is Zelda.”

“A fine name indeed,” he sits back down, his eyes glancing at her stump. She rubs at it self-consciously.

“Who are you?”

“Just an old fool,” his fake, sad smile returns. “Be careful around here, monsters roam these ruins.”

Zelda bows her head. “Thank you, sir.”

With an awkward shift of her shoulders, she walks down the path away from the old man. When she reaches the end of the dirt and hits grass, she hears his voice again.

 _Zelda, follow the path on your Sheikah Slate._ She pulls it out, staring at the black surface of a map. Faint blue outlines seem to separate the kingdom, but she doesn’t focus on that. Instead, she focuses on the flashing yellow dot near the north-eastern border. A yellow arrowhead marks her spot, she discovers this as she turns to her destination.

Following the path down, Zelda spots a red pig-like creature sitting on a piece of rubble. It is nosily eating a boar head, paying her no mind. It is for the best, she doesn’t know how she can defend herself against it.

Although, just to feel a little safer, she picks up a stick that is lying on the ground. She would have preferred the woodcutting axe stuck in a stump, but not with a single arm and questionable strength.

She continues down the path, broken cobblestone overrun by grass and moss. When she gets about halfway to her destination, two blue blobs with large eyes pop out of the ground. She swings her stick, but misses when the blob jumps at her. She stumbles back clumsily, falling onto her backside. The blob that jumped lands on her stomach and she pushes it off, her hand sinking into it. She stands and shutters, slamming her foot down onto the creature’s head. It explodes into slimy chunks, as does the second when she stomps on it.

At the bottom of the path, she spots another pig-like creature standing in front of a pile of rocks. The pile of rocks is where she must go, so she furrows her brow in concern. If her ‘fight’ against the blobs is any indication, she is not trained in combat. She can’t stomp on this creature, it is as tall as she is. Hiding behind a rock, she observes the area ahead carefully.

_If I can sneak around it without getting spotted..._

But a problem lies there. If she is to enter the pile of rocks, she’ll be trapped if the creature spots her.

 _But it is a risk I must take_.

Her heart pounds as she crouches and moves from her hiding spot. Going wide at first, she slowly reaches the rocks without alerting the pig-creature. When she makes it into the shadows, she looks back at it. It hasn’t moved at all, instead it just stands there with a club in its hand.

_So they are not intelligent. If it had moved its head just a little, it would have spotted me. Good. I can work with idiotic monsters._

Zelda stands up and enters the rocks. Within is a floor similar to the chamber she woke up in, with a pedestal sitting near the back of the alcove.

 **Place the Sheikah Slate in the pedestal,** the Slate requests.

She examines it quickly before putting the Slate in face-down. It is brought into the pedestal’s surface, turning and causing orange runes to appear.

**Sheikah Slate detected. Please avoid the falling rocks.**

_Excuse me?_

With a great shake, causing Zelda to fall flat on her back, the floor begins to rumble.

All across Hyrule, tall ancient towers begin to rise from the earth. The entire kingdom shakes as they rise, debris falling from the sky to hit monsters and travellers alike.Then, all at once, the shaking stops.

Zelda rubs the back of her head before pushing herself up. Her heart leaps into her throat when she sees she is several kilometers in the air. As her pounding heart slows, the Sheikah Slate speaks.

**Distilling local information...**

Above the pedestal, a stone begins to glow blue as it sings. A tear-like droplet of magic falls off the bottom, splashing onto the Sheikah Slate like a wisp of smoke.

 **Regional map** **updated.**

As it says, the blacked-out map shines on the surface and a piece of land flashes across it. The map marks the Great Plateau. She takes the Slate off when the pedestal pushes it back out and feels a presence. She turns to the shrouded castle, not seeing anything but knowing he is reaching out to her.

 _Zelda...remember what happened..._ _You have been asleep for a hundred years. In that time, a horrible monster has been gaining more power._ As he speaks, a large, dark cloud of smoke forms from the base of the Castle. It swirls around the towers, forming into the head of a boar-like creature. It lets out a mighty roar. _This monster threatens the lives of Hyrule. You are the only one who is capable of stopping it. You must hurry, or else Hyrule will completely fall to the darkness._

Zelda subconsciously holds her stump, watching the dark vision fade. One hundred years...has it really been so long? She can’t recall anything from before waking up. Not the voice, not the kingdom, and certainly not the monster who destroyed it. How is she to face a monster she has no memory of? How is she to fight it if she does not know the art of combat?

She lets her arm fall limply, shaking her head. It won’t do to worry about such things now. In this moment, she has to worry about getting off of this tower.

She inches towards the edge, peeking down only for her vision to swim. A few meters below her is a platform, but that does little to ease her worries. Feeling like a fool, she turns and gets down onto her stomach, slowly crawling back until she feels her foot catch a hold. Her other foot follows suit, then she moves them both to lower herself further. Her arm holds tightly to the edge of the tower and she begins to climb down.

Then she falls, landing hard on her back. She groans, resting her forearm across her eyes. If it wasn’t clear before, it is now; she is in not fit enough for this. Whatever life she had before, it didn’t involve being so active. She turns her head to look at her shoulder, frowning deeply. The missing arm doesn’t help, either.

After a few minutes of laying there, Zelda’s eyes grow hard. _Don’t be such a child._ _Wallowing in self-pity won’t get you anywhere. Now get up and try again. You can’t give up after failing_ _once_ _._

She stands and hooks her feet and arm into the tower. Much more carefully this time, and slower, she climbs down.

_Left foot. Right foot. Arm. Left foot. Right foot. Arm._

Zelda thanks whatever Gods made this tower. With the brief platforms she is able to rest and regain her energy, even if her body is already aching. She knows she’ll feel even worse in the morning and isn’t looking forward to it.

Once she at last makes it to solid ground, she hears a call from above. She looks up and sees the old man gliding down on an item made of wood and cloth. It is dark red in colour, with beige markings vaguely similar to a bird. He tucks it away and addresses her, still refusing to look at her face. “My, this is quite the enigma. This tower, and many like it, have just risen all across the kingdom. It seems a power has suddenly awoken in the world.” He offers a ghost of a smile. “May I ask if something odd happened at the top?”

“I heard someone speaking to me.”

“You did? Did you recognize it?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“I see. How unfortunate.” He turns towards the Castle and points his lantern. “I assume you’ve seen the shroud plaguing the Castle. That is Calamity Ganon. One hundred years ago, that entity was the reason Hyrule fell into decay and despair. It was sudden and powerful, killing everyone and anything in its path. Many innocent lives were ended because of it. For this last century, the evil has been trapped within the walls of Hyrule Castle. Within its trap, it builds its strength so that it may unleash that destructive force once more. It appears that may happen soon if nothing is done.”

The old man becomes quiet, the gaze behind his hood turning to Zelda. She looks back, but when she does the old man looks away. “Do you intend to go to the Castle?”

“Yes.” She says it before thinking, but knows she must.

The old man chuckles, but it is dry and lifeless. “I thought you might say that. However, there is a problem. This plateau rises high on the hills. Attempting to climb up or down would prove fatal to anyone foolish enough to try. But, I have something that could aid you. My paraglider. However, I can’t just give it to you. You must prove yourself worthy of it first. I happen to know the perfect way of doing that. Come.”

He walks up the small hill to the end of the rock. Zelda follows briskly, seeing a rocky formation with bright orange runes at its base. The formation sits across two ponds, with a band of pig-creatures camping around a fire near the second pond.

“That structure began to glow when you rose the towers. It will test your wits and grant you a treasure inside. If you wish for my paraglider, you must complete it.”

Zelda stares at the structure. How something so small could have something inside it confuses her, but she must get the paraglider. She must save that man in the Castle. She must save Hyrule. She doesn’t know how she can do that just yet, but getting off the Plateau is the first step. So she walks down the hill and around the first pond.

When she comes to the second, she pauses and stares at a strange object half-buried in the mud. It is large, made of stone or metal, with a round body and a smaller cylinder-shaped head. Long, spindly legs lay across the dirt around it. Curious, she walks up the front of it to see a groove in the head akin to an eye. She tilts her head, humming and running her hand across the surface. She spots another one in the water, sunken up to its head.

After a few moments, she leaves the object behind, although her curiosity isn’t satisfied.

She goes up the hill and walks to the structure, spotting metal boxes and boulders sitting around another pond. She also spots a chest at the bottom, but shrugs and walks up to the structure. She feels her Sheikah Slate vibrate and picks it up, looking at the pedestal beside the door of the structure. She places it face-down and the door rumbles open, the orange light turning a vibrant blue.

Inside the structure is a circular panel, which glows when she steps on it and begins to descend.

The platform lands, and she enters an enormous building under the earth. The walls rise high, with an iron gate barring any way through and a pair of metal doors lying across the floor in front of her.

_**Listen well, saviour. I am Oman Au, the Sheikah spirit of this Shrine. Complete this Shrine’s trial and you shall be granted a reward.** _

_**Now begin the Magnesis Trial.** _

Zelda spots a pedestal. After she places the Slate inside it, the singing stone grants her the power of Magnesis. She looks at the image on the Slate, some sort of red-pink horseshoe. The box it is within, settled between five black boxes, glows a light blue. Underneath are instructions of how to use this ‘rune’, as it is called.

She looks at the metal doors. She holds the Slate towards them, feeling energy come to life as her world is filled with a stripy red hue. The doors glow bright pink and when she aims the Slate at them, a pulse of yellow-orange energy bursts from it. The yellow beam connects with the door, turning it the same colour, and a large blue horseshoe suddenly appears around the Slate and in Zelda’s hand. She makes a soft noise between a grunt and a yelp when she drops the Slate, the horseshoe awkward to hold.

When she tries again, she hugs the Slate to her chest and adjusts it so the nook of her arm can hold the middle of the shoe. With this method, she is able to nudge the door away from the floor. Underneath is a hollowed hallway. She jumps down, awkwardly falling onto her knees, and walks down the short hall and up some stairs to find a wall of stone blocks. Within the wall is a lone metal block, which she moves and causes the rest to tumble down.

Just on the other side, a small version of the decayed objects outside comes to life. It’s a bit shorter than she is. As she approaches it, curiosity peaked, the eye begins to glow blue and seem to absorb the air around it. When the glow turned white-blue, it releases a beam of light. The beam hits Zelda squarely in her left shoulder, making her wince as it singes her shirt and a layer of skin. It doesn’t hurt too much, but without any weapons she is forced to run across a metal door to a platform.

She hears the thing charging another shot, quickly using Magnesis to lift the door up to block the beam. Then she gets an idea. She lifts the door above the thing’s head and releases the energy. The door crushes it. She lifts the door back up and makes a bridge to the next platform, then spots a metal chest on a shelf. She frowns, wondering if it is within range, and is happily surprised to find it is. However, when she gets the chest she isn’t sure how she is supposed to bring it closer to her.

As if hearing her thoughts, the beam begins to retract, pulling the chest along. Zelda releases it when the chest is in front of her. Eagerly, she opens it. Then her smile falls. Inside is a wooden bow. She glares at her stump, but picks the bow up anyway. She strings it across her torso. Perhaps she can sell it somewhere.

Disregarding the thought for now, she uses Magnesis on the next set of doors to slam them open. They nearly give her a heart attack when they barely miss her face, but the result is the same. Beyond the door is a square of light up two short stairs. Within the wall of light, sitting cross legged on a coffin, is a bone-thin deceased body. Its long white hair falls around it and a white eye tattoo sits on its forehead. When Zelda touches the wall of light, the voice from before speaks.

_**Saviour, you have arrived. I am Oman Au, creator of this trial. While you have slumbered, we, the Sheikah, have been waiting. Now that you once more walk among us, our time has come to aid you. Take this Blessing from the Goddess.** _

A dark purple orb, with the image of a bird within, appears from Oman Au’s chest. It floats to Zelda, flowing into her chest. She feels refreshed, but something else stirs inside her.

_**The Goddess stands by you.** _

A blue light surrounds the Sheikah as they ascend. Zelda sees the same light surrounding her, then she finds herself outside the shrine. It is now night, the sky alight with stars and a nearly full moon.

“Well, you certainly did well,” the old man glides down, making Zelda jump a little. “You’ve even collected a Spirit Orb.”

“How could you know that?” Zelda’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“I am gifted with clairvoyance, or something similar. As we get older, it becomes more difficult to see what stands before us. However, what was once hidden in youth can be seen clear as crystal. Although, some might say otherwise.” Another dry and lifeless chuckle. “The towers and shrines appearing now, the Sheikah Slate on your hip, they are connected.”

“How so?”

“It has been decades since I have seen a Sheikah Slate. Long ago, a tribe with highly advanced technology lived in these lands. They are the Sheikah. The power of their wisdom saved this kingdom many times. But their technology vanished, or so many have said. It intrigues me how something like that has survived all these years, hidden safely in a shrine. These shrines are all over Hyrule, some in plain sight and others hidden. On this plateau, there are three more. Once you have proven yourself in those, then I will give you my paraglider.”

Zelda frowns. That hadn’t been what the deal was, but she holds her tongue. This isn’t the time to argue with the only living person on the plateau.

“So I must look for these shrines. Where can I begin to find them?”

He turns to the tower. “From atop the tower, of course.”

“You cannot be serious!” the words escape Zelda before she can stop herself. “I nearly broke my neck going down that tower! How am I supposed to get back up with this!” she gestures to her stump. It is aching dully.

The old man chuckles, a bit more life within it. “You need not climb it. Pull out the Sheikah Slate and look at the map. Do you see the blue icons on it? Press those and you can travel to them. You must have them on your map before you do so, but there you should have the tower, shrine and the Shrine of Resurrection, where you woke.”

When Zelda gives him yet another suspicious glare, he turns his back to her. “Or so it was told. I was never sure if such a thing could work.”

_You clearly know more than you’re letting on, you sad old man._

With a light huff, Zelda presses the ‘icon’ of the tower. The blue light surrounds her and her body turns numb for a few moments before she reappears on the tower. To her great surprise, and annoyance, the old man is somehow waiting for her.

“Very good. Now then, I want you to look for the shrines. They will be easy to spot, I’m sure. Did you know your Sheikah Slate has a scope? You can use it to look at faraway places. While in the scope mode, you can make markings on the map to help guide you.”

“How do you know these things?”

“I have lived in the wild for many, many years now. When you get this old, you just know these things. You may take my advice or not, it is up for you to decide.”

_It is absolutely not up for me to decide. I need the paraglider to leave, or else I’m stuck with this sad man for the rest of my life._

Zelda pulls out the Sheikah Slate and looks through it, selecting the scope. She pins three shrines with beams of colour; one on the ground amongst broken walls, one on a mountain cliff and the final on top of the snow-capped mountain.

When she leaves the scope, the old man is gone.

Transporting back down, Zelda begins towards the closest shrine. As she approaches, avoiding a skull cavern filled with pig-creatures, she notices more of the ruined objects. She walks up to one within the walls, it is more intact than the others, then she pales when red light comes alive within the object’s body. The head atop its body shakes and rises, causing dirt and moss to fall over Zelda. The head swivels, looking at Zelda with a menacing blue eye. A thin red beam is locked onto her as the being begins to click dangerously.

Zelda sprints behind another object, hearing a loud ping and feeling a giant blast almost take her legs off. She sits and presses her back to the fully destroyed object, trying to still her rapid heartbeat. She honestly should have expected this after seeing the small one within the shrine.

But now there is a problem. She can see the top of the shrine peeking over the wall, but the wall has crumbled into rubble leaving no way to get through. Now with the living object looking for her, she’ll have little time to think of a way through.

Unless she is to climb, but she already knows that won’t work.

She contemplates for a few minutes, then comes to a dooming, terrifying realization. She glances at the spot the object had blasted. There is a good-sized crater, the grass still burning from the shot. Zelda closes her eyes, gulping, and stands. She peeks out, seeing the object looking away, and sprints to the next dead object. She ensures she isn’t spotted before going in front of the pile of rubble.

She throws a rock at the object’s head, catching its attention. She bends her knees as it begins to charge, the red beam planted squarely on her chest. There is the ping she had heard when it fired before and she dives to the side. The blast demolishes the rubble, sending chunks to bruise Zelda’s back and arm as she covers her head as best she can. Once the rumbling stops, she raises her head to see the path cleared. She quickly runs through the rubble and pivots right, slamming her back into the wall as her pounding heart slows down.

 _I can’t believe that worked,_ she thinks, sliding to her backside. She lets herself calm down before going into the shrine.

_**Welcome, saviour, to my shrine. I am Ja Baij. Complete my trial and I shall reward you.** _

_**Now begin the Bomb Trial.** _

After achieving the new rune, Zelda examines the bombs. One is a square and the other is a sphere. _I must be careful with these._ She balances the Slate on her fingers, selecting the spherical bomb, and the energy summons a bright, glowing blue bomb into her hand. The bomb is the size of her head and falls to the floor, too awkward to hold any other way.

She frowns at the bomb and kicks it down a slope, into two stone blocks with cracks. She stands and points the Slate at the bomb. It explodes in a large blue shock wave, destroying the blocks.

_Now I won’t have to rely on those terrifying things outside._

She goes deeper, finding two walls of stone. She summons another spherical bomb, managing to tuck it under her arm, and throws it to the wall in a corner. Inside is a chest with a giant claymore that she has no luck in getting. She leaves it behind and continues on, bombing the other wall and climbing up a ladder to a risen floor. A moving platform sits between her and the opposite wall of blocks. When the platform reaches her end, she places the square bomb on top and prepares to detonate it. Her eyes grow wide as she arrives at the other side.

Several pillars are being pushed from the ground, sending any object on them flying, as demonstrated by a round stone ball with orange runes. The pillar farthest on the right side has a funnel leading to it from a short staircase, with piled blocks of stone on the other side. Zelda rolls the spherical bomb down it, waiting for the bomb to land before detonating it. Luckily, a ladder leads up to the opposite side so she doesn’t have to ride the pillar.

She approaches the Sheikah.

_**Your wits have helped you overcome this trial. The marking of a true saviour. Accept this, the Blessing of the Goddess.** _

Another orb refreshes Zelda. She bows to the Sheikah thankfully.

_**The Goddess stands by you.** _

Like previously, the Sheikah and Zelda become light. Zelda steps outside, ducking behind the wall when the object spots her. Once she knows it isn’t looking, she sneaks out and away from it. Then directly into the sight of another, forcing her to sprint away.

-0-0-0-0-

When Zelda leaves the Keh Namut shrine on the mountain’s peak, the old man is waiting for her at the edge of the cliff. She walks to his side as he speaks. “You have at last collected all four Spirit Orbs. That means it is time. Zelda, it is time for me to tell you everything. But not here. Meet me at the heart of Hyrule. There, you shall learn who you are.”

Zelda takes a step back when transparent blue-green flames surrounds the old man. Once they cease, he is gone. Zelda looks to the heart of Hyrule, the Temple of Time. She uses the Sheikah Slate to travel to the Shrine of Resurrection, then walks to the Temple.

Around the ruined temple is a ladder, letting Zelda climb up to the top. From there, she goes across the broken roof into the lone tower at the temple’s front, where the old man waits for her with his back turned to her.

“You have done well to get this far. Now, I can finally put your suspicious to rest. My true identity is King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule.” There is a bright flash, then King Rhoam stands before Zelda in his true form. His sad eyes are now light blue and he wears royal robes, with a crown sitting on his head. Now the blue-green flames dance around him and he floats a few centimeters off the floor. “The Great Calamity had no mercy. It destroyed the kingdom a century past, killing hundreds. I was one of those who perished. Since then, I stayed at the Great Plateau as a spirit, but I did not think it wise to overwhelm you as soon as you woke from your slumber, so I thought it best to disguise myself. I hope you forgive me for my lies,” he floats to the broken wall, gazing at the land. Zelda walks to his side, remaining silent. “Now, I think you are ready to hear what happened back then. But to understand, you must know what Calamity Ganon is.”

“He was once a man born with the soul of a demon. His transformation into Malice is the horrific form you see surrounding the castle. There had been mentions of Ganon in legends and fairy tales...as well as in a prophecy foretold long ago. ‘The signs of a resurrection of Calamity Ganon are clear. And the power to oppose it lies dormant beneath the ground.’ We followed the words of the prophecy, excavating the earth to find the power beneath. Not long after we began, we came across four relics left behind by our ancestors. These were the Divine Beasts, giant machines controlled by trustworthy warriors. Alongside them, we found the Guardians, the mechanical soldiers who’s corpses you see across the plateau. These connected to ancient legends often told through generations. With these legends, we learned of a Princess who was blessed with a sacred power and her knight, who wielded a sword capable of sealing evil. Together, they sealed Ganon using the ancient relics.

“One hundred years ago, there was a Princess who was thought to inherit this sacred power. Beside her stood a skilled knight. To us all, it was clear that we had to follow in our ancestors’ footsteps. We selected four warriors, skilled and brave, who would pilot the Divine Beasts. With the Princess in command, we dubbed these warriors Champions, a name to solidify their unity. The Princess, knight and Champions were on the brink of sealing Ganon away...

But it was not to be.

Ganon was cunning. He retaliated with a plan beyond our imagining. He rose from underground, seizing the Divine Beasts and the Guardians within his grasp. He turned them against us, killing the Champions and anyone inside the Castle walls.

“The appointed knight and Princess fled for their lives. But during the escape, the Princess was fatally wounded. Thus, the kingdom of Hyrule was destroyed by Calamity Ganon.

However, not all hope was lost. The knight survived, and he faced Ganon alone. With the sword that seals evil, he encased the beast and has since warred against him for the last hundred years.”

“That knight was a brave young man, but his war is waning. That is why the fate of Hyrule now rests with you,” King Rhoam turns to Zelda, now looking at her face, “my daughter.”

Zelda is left stunned. She can only stare at the King, her father, as his sad smile returns. “You would do anything to protect your knight. It is because of you that he lived to halt Ganon in his tracks. When you fell, you were taken to the Shrine of Resurrection to heal. Now, one hundred years later, you have awoken. The words you have been hearing belong to Link, your knight and friend. While he has warred, Ganon has grown stronger and bides his time for when Link finally falls. Time is now short. If nothing is done to stop Ganon soon, I fear all of Hyrule will be destroyed once again, without any hope of returning to life.”

“I could not save our kingdom,” King Rhoam’s eyes turn downcast, “but I know you have the power to revive it from the ashes. To save Link, and the kingdom, you must journey to the corners of Hyrule and put an end to the Divine Beasts’ rage. To begin, you will want to travel to Kakariko Village and speak to Lady Impa. She can tell you more of what lies ahead of you.” He looks out towards the east, at two mountains. “You must go beyond the Duelling Peaks and follow the path north, where you will find the village.”

He turns to Zelda, gazing at her with more sadness, but also a bit of happiness and hope. “The path ahead is dangerous, especially for you. That is why I must give you this,” from his robe he pulls out a leather-bound book. “Within these pages you will find magic spells to aid you. I had once thought them not important for you to learn, but I had been a fool. I had been foolish about many things regarding your training. When you had fallen, you had unleashed the power to seal Ganon. Now I’m afraid you must relearn how to do it, so you may challenge him. These spells will be the beginning to that. Now about that paraglider,” he smiles, handing it to Zelda. “You can use the Sheikah Slate to store your items for when you need them. Using the paraglider is an easy task, even one-handed.”

Zelda nods lightly, unable to think of anything to say. He said he had not wanted to overwhelm her, but learning she’s a Princess said to have a great power is a bit much for her right now. A part of her believes King Rhoam is mistaken, but his eyes are not lying.

“Thank you,” she says finally. King Rhoam smiles, the fire becoming brighter as he begins to shine.

“You are not the Princess of a forsaken kingdom. You are the saviour that will revive it. Farewell, my daughter.”

When King Rhoam is gone, truly gone, Zelda stares at where he stood. After a few quiet moments, she falls to her knees.

 _Everyone was relying on me and I failed them. What was I supposed to do, and why couldn’t I do it? How did I get so injured that I lost an arm and had to recover for a hundred years?_ Zelda clenches her stump. _I suppose it no longer matters. Whatever I was before, whoever I was before, is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is putting an end to my failure. I will stop the Calamity. I_ will _stop the Calamity._

Deep down, Zelda feels like this is a lie she is telling herself.

Zelda stands and climbs back down the temple. Now at last, she feels exhaustion taking its toll. She walks into the temple, seeing a tall statue of a winged woman glowing from the moonlight breaking through the roof. She sits at its base, curling up on her side.

As she falls asleep, she doesn’t notice the beam of light shine down directly on her. From her chest, four Spirit Orbs rise. They vanish into the light, and in turn a new shape forms from it. A triangle, bathed in golden light, descends. When it touches Zelda, it causes her to glow faintly. Once the glow fades, a golden triangle shines on the back of her hand. The shine slowly grows dim until only the smallest trace of it is left behind.


	2. The Road to Kakariko

Zelda reads the third page of her spell book carefully. She has spent all morning trying to learn the first three spells to aid her on the road. First, a spell that produces a small warm light, then a minor healing spell that has eased some of the ache in her body. Now, with singed hair and fingertips, she holds her palm out and takes a deep breath.

A tiny gold flame flickers to life, barely the size of an acorn. She inhales for three seconds, watching the flame expand, but then it is dies when she exhales. With a huff, Zelda stores her book in the Sheikah Slate and leans against the winged statue.

Zelda turns her hand over, watching the golden triangle fade until it is no longer visible. She feels like the strange marking was not there yesterday, but she also isn’t sure if her memory serves her right.

After a few minutes to let herself rest, she stands and takes out the paraglider. With the aid of a small grassy hill outside of the Temple of Time, she begins to practice with it.

After a few failed attempts of grass stains and bruises, she finally manages to find a balance with her hand in the very centre and leaning slightly to the side. She cannot turn, but for now gliding in a straight line is all she wants. She continues to practice with the paraglider until late afternoon, when the wind picks up.

Zelda eats a few apples before making her way to the edge of the plateau. Her heart pounds at the sheer drop. The wind at her back pushes her hair past her face, making her close her eyes as she raises the paraglider above her head.

Before she can loose her nerve, she jumps.

If the height was not so daunting, Zelda can see herself enjoying this. As it is, she finds herself staring at the distant ground and praying she won’t fall. Her grip on the paraglider tightens as she descends.

Her heart leaps to her throat when the wind’s direction shifts, pushing her towards a cluster of trees. She kicks her legs out, trying her best to avoid them, but in the end it is useless. She slams into a tree branch, the paraglider falling to the ground as the branch snaps. Several more snap as her back meets them, but then she comes to a sudden halt.

The doublet is stuck to a branch, now leaving her hanging about ten feet in the air.

 _Fantastic,_ she thinks bitterly, looking around. There is a branch not too far from her, but it mocks her by being on her left side. She looks back at the ground, biting her lip. Her only way is to break the branch, somehow.

Taking a deep breath, she awkwardly brings her arm behind her, but then hears a tear. Before she can think, she falls to the ground, landing hard on her face. Suppressing a fowl curse, she picks herself up and shivers, finding herself standing in only a ragged undershirt. She looks up angrily at the doublet, left hanging on the branch.

With a huff, she picks up the paraglider and stores it. While it is out, she looks at the Sheikah Slate’s map. She turns herself until her arrow faces east and walks, taking deep breaths to calm down.

 _At least I didn’t break my neck,_ she rubs her sore face. _Hopefully it isn’t too cold tonight._

-0-0-0-0-

Zelda frowns at the blackened food in the cooking pot. Whatever meagre skills she had before, cooking is clearly not one of them. As frustrating as it is, it makes sense. Since she was a princess, she most likely had servants to cook all her meals for her. Her stomach growls and she sighs, looking out into the rain.

She had been lucky. She found this small alcove minutes before the downpour and had been able to start a fire with her little flame spell. She had been looking forward to a warm meal, but now she has nothing.

Sighing again, she leans her back against the rocky wall, pulling out the spell book and sitting it in her crossed legs. With the firelight, she reads over the healing spell again and begins to nurse her bruises. They remain slightly yellowed, one particularly nasty one on her stomach is still purple, but she feels relieved at the very least. She stores the book away and lies down on her side.

A snapping twig prompts her to her feet, so fast she gets dizzy for a moment. A person walks into the line of the fire, their hand grasping their other arm. “Oh! Hello!” the person says, giving a strained smile. “You wouldn’t happen to have a bandage or potion, would you?”

“I’m sorry, no.” Zelda looks at the blood seeping through the stranger’s fingers. _I can’t do nothing._ _Maybe I can heal it?_ _My spell isn’t good, but I might be able to ease the pain a bit._ _It is worth a try._ “I might be able to help, though. Come, sit by the fire,” Zelda shifts to her knees as the stranger sits down. The stranger gives her a curious look. “Hold out your arm, please.” Zelda can feel herself visibly pale at the look of the injury. It is deep, a single hole from a spear. It is torn at the edges, so the spear was dulled. The smell is already fowl with infection. The stranger nods.

“Yeah, it hurts like a bitch, too.”

That makes Zelda shake her head and straighten her back. She places her hand on the arm, ignoring the blood, and inhales deeply before summoning all the magic she can. The glow of her mark shines in her eyes as she focuses, missing the stranger’s skeptical frown melt into wide-eyed awe. Sweat begins to drip down Zelda’s face and she can feel her hand starting to shake.

She can only hold on for a moment longer before pulling away, leaning back on her arm heavily. “Sorry,” she says, closing her eyes. “I’ve only just begun to learn that spell. It isn’t very good.”

“Nonsense! Open your eyes and look at this!” Zelda squints her eyes open slowly and blinks. The wound has closed somewhat and is no longer pouring out as much blood.

“It’s still bleeding so much,” Zelda bites her lip. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing. That was amazing, I’ve never seen magic before. Everyone thought it was an art that died a long time ago. Only Wizzrobes have it anymore. And, well, you know...” the stranger shrugs nonchalantly. Zelda just blinks. “Anyway, this will be enough for now. I have herbs to help the rest. I was worried I’d pass out from blood loss, and that is what you stopped. So, I thank you, stranger. Mind if I use your fire to make a potion?”

Zelda nods, then flushes when the stranger snickers at the blackened ash. She looks at Zelda with an amused grin. “Not much of a cooker, are you?”

“Unfortunately not,” Zelda allows herself a giggle, sitting back with crossed legs.

“So, what’s your story, stranger?” she asks, bringing a handful of herbs and horns out of a small bag on her hip. Zelda watches in amazement as she does it with only one hand, rubbing her own stump. “Orphan? Runaway? An explorer who dreams of wealth and glory?”

Zelda hesitates for a moment.

“Orphan.” She isn’t sure if she had a mother before, but she must certainly be dead now if her father is. “My father passed away last night, but he told me to find an old friend.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Smokey fumes rise from the cooking pot, but nothing seems to be burning. “It’s hard to lose family. He must have kept you very sheltered, if you don’t know how to cook.”

“Yes, he did.” Zelda is confident that this isn’t even a lie. “He wanted to keep me safe.”

“Yeah, that’s what all parents want from their kids. I was lucky, my family always lived in the wilds so they taught me how to survive. Honestly, it’s more dangerous living in the towns and villages. Constant raids from monsters and bandits alike.”

Zelda feels guilt rise in her, but pushes it to the side. Surly there had been raids before the Calamity.

“What is your name?”

“Dangerous question, stranger. I’d refrain from doing the same again in the future.”

Zelda nods at the ominous warning, wondering why it could be so dangerous to ask for a simple name. Nonetheless, she decides to stop asking questions. She doesn’t need this nameless stranger to get suspicious about her lack of knowledge. Even if she was sheltered all her life, there are ways of the world she should know.

After about half an hour, the stranger scoops up a pile of the goop she made and spreads it across her arm, letting out a sigh. “Much better. Well, thank you for the heal and the fire. I should get going.”

“Why not rest here?”

“So you can rob me blind? I think not,” the stranger scoffs, but she also winks. “So long.”

And so she walks into the night, whistling a happy tune and leaving Zelda a bit more confused.

Between the rain, cold and a heavy mind, Zelda can’t fall asleep. She looks at the time on the Sheikah Slate, frowning when it says it is eight at night. She had been looking forward to sleep, but now the warnings from the stranger have left her paranoid. Shaking her head, she summons the spell book again and begins to practice her fire spell.

She wants to at least be able to hold the flame longer than a few seconds.

When dawn comes, Zelda sits and smiles at the golden flame flickering in her hand. It is not much bigger than the day before, but she can at least hold it consistently. Unfortunately, she is aware that her magic is draining quickly. She lets the flame die, picking herself up and dusting off her pants.

Oddly, she doesn’t feel exhausted from the lack of sleep. Her body aches and her head pounds a bit, but she feels like she can gain a fair bit of distance today despite that. _Maybe I had trouble sleeping in the past?_

The sky has cleared, but the ground is still wet from the downpour. Zelda’s lackluster sandles sink into the mud and she frowns. She will need better clothes once she gets to Kakariko.

Zelda continues down the road, looking about for any signs of danger.

She spots the Sheikah Tower over the tree tops and begins to pick up the pace, when she hears a soft jingle. She stops and tilts her head, her ears flicking to the sound. She turns right off the path, coming across a large hollowed log fallen on a hill. At the base of the log is a yellow flower that glows lightly. She approaches it, hearing the jingle more clearly, and she waves her hand at the flower to touch it. Her hand passes through air the moment she touches the petals and she jumps back, seeing the flower reappear up the hill a bit.

Curious, she follows the flower up the log. Her heart leaps to her throat when a boulder suddenly rolls towards her. She presses herself up against the side of the log, closing her eyes and wincing as it nearly takes off her nose. She hears it crash and looks down at it, holding her hand above her pounding heart.

She looks back at the flower, glaring at it. She follows it up to the top, where the flower turns white, and she jumps when the flower vanishes and a little creature stands in its place.

The creature is made of wood, with a leaf with facial features on its front. In its hand is a miniature windmill, which blows constantly despite the low breeze. The little creature gasps in delight as it looks up at Zelda. “Wow! So you really found me! No one has seen us Koroks for a very long time. You must be very special, miss! My dad told me to give this to anyone who could see us,” from behind its back, the Korok pulls out a golden seed and passes it to Zelda. “They aren’t much good on their own, but you can collect them from any Koroks you find!”

“How do I find you?” Zelda asks, admiring the seed. Strangely, it has a faint odour to it.

“You can easily find us anywhere, you just have to listen for us,” the Korok hugs Zelda’s leg, making her smile. “Goodbye, friend!” With a puff, he is gone.

Zelda stores the seed in the Sheikah Slate, letting out a quiet laugh. _He was very cute,_ she walks back down the hill, giving the boulder a scathing look.

Following the road, she looks up in awe at the grand Duelling Peaks. The tower she spotted earlier is on the other side of a river, but Zelda simply sighs. She wouldn’t be able to make it up the tower, so there is no point in crossing it.

_Is there a spell?_

There is, but it is in the beginning of the next level of magic. The image of a person merged with an Octorok is enough to deter Zelda for now.

“HELP!”

Zelda jumps and focuses her attention on the other side of the river. A man is waving at her with both his arms. “Please, help! My sister is stuck!”

He gestures to a pile of rocks and Zelda pulls out the Sheikah Slate. She casts Cryonis on the water before stepping on top of it, rising up and making a bridge across the water. She gets to the other side quickly, ignoring the man’s shocked expression as she runs to the rocks.

He seems to snap out of it, as he is by her side in seconds.

A girl identical to the man lies unconscious with her leg trapped under a boulder. The man looks at Zelda with worry. “She got trapped when that tower rose from the ground,” he nods to the tower, making Zelda’s heart race faster. “There’s a stable nearby, but I couldn’t leave her alone like this,” he gently runs a hand through her hair, rousing her a little bit. “No one has passed all day, could you run to the stabl for me?”

 _This is my fault_ , Zelda thinks as she stands, pulling out the Sheikah Slate again. _I raised these when I activated the plateau's tower. I can’t just leave her like this._

“How strong are you?” Zelda says, getting onto the other side of the boulder, calculating where it will roll.

“Fairly?” the man says, unsure as he looks between his sister and Zelda. “Why?”

“Stand here,” Zelda taps her foot on the spot and moves, letting him stand in place. “Here,” she summons a spear she had found out of her Sheikah Slate. It had been light weight, even if she can’t use it, so she stored it. “Use this to hit the boulder as hard as you can when I say.”

The man prepares himself, forever casting Zelda a confused look. Zelda selects Stasis and sees golden chains hold the boulder in place. “Now!” she yells. The man jabs the spear into the boulder and it shatters, but Zelda sees the aura of Stasis pointing downhill with a yellow-orange arrow. The Stasis falls, the boulder hit with enough force to push it off the woman’s leg.

The woman’s leg is absolutely crushed below the knee, bone, muscle and blood pooling across the ground. Zelda vomits in her mouth a bit. She swallows it back down with a shutter, summoning a flame in her palm. Focusing, she brings it to the stump, sweat quickly forming on her brow as she wills it to grow hot. It cauterizes the wound somewhat, but it is still bleeding too much. Zelda ends the fire and places her hand on the leg, now summoning her power to heal.

All the while, the brother looks at her with a pale face and tears brimming at his eyes.

Zelda only stops when she starts to see spots, pulling back and standing with a soft grunt. “Let’s get her to this stable. Which direction?” Zelda begins to pull the sister’s arm aroundher shoulders.

The brother gently takes Zelda’s hand away and picks up his sister with ease, holding her close. Zelda is relieved to see she is still breathing, if only barely. “Through the canyon.”

Zelda nods and they walk together, noticing a fire halfway through the canyon. Zelda walks ahead for a second, spotting Bokoblins and putting her arm out. She takes out a round bomb and kicks it towards the camp, lighting up the explosive barrels at the edge of the camp.

With the fire and confusion, the two slip through the smoke unnoticed and break through the other side, spotting the stable.

Zelda, feeling the toll of the last few minutes, collapses onto a stump when people rush out of the stable to help the woman. The man grants Zelda a final glance before going in as well.

Perhaps she _is_ more exhausted than she thought. With the last few minutes of pure adrenaline, she finds her magic is completely drained and it is hard to breathe. Closing her eyes, she leans back against a stack of hay and brings her knees up to her forehead.

She can’t shake the feeling of immense guilt. She knew she had to raise the plateau's tower, but she had not known the damage it had done. King Rhoam said towers had appeared all across Hyrule, so does that mean there are more people out there who could be hurt? Crushed under boulders because of her?

_Thousands died when the Calamity attacked because I did not stop him. Have I just killed more people again?_

Zelda doesn’t realize she is crying until she hears a soft voice in front of her. “Hey, it’s alright. My sister is going to make it.” With a running nose and puffy eyes, Zelda raises her gaze past her arm to the brother. He is smiling gently, far too gently for what she caused. “You are some sort of miracle. If you had arrived event a minute later she would have been gone. I was praying to the Gods for help and then a mage arrives. This has to be fate,” he chuckles lightly, unknowingly increasing the guilt within Zelda. “Not many strangers come through these parts. What are you doing here?”

Zelda tries fruitlessly to dry her eyes. “I am going to Kakariko.”

“Ah, that’s close by! You can follow the road north and reach it before sundown,” he pulls a bag off his belt, holding it out to Zelda. “There should be enough for a night in the inn, a meal and some fresh clothes.”

“I couldn’t,” Zelda pushes at it, but he shakes his head.

“I insist. These Rupees are worthless next to my sister’s life. Besides, you look like someone who’s been down on their own luck. Please, take it.”

Reluctantly, Zelda takes the bag and holds it in her lap. “Thank you,” the words taste bitter as she forces them out.

“No, thank you,” he bows deeply, making Zelda fidget uncomfortably, and walks back into the stable.

Zelda looks down at the bag of money, sighing quietly as she stores it in the Slate. She pushes herself off the hay, wiping away the rest of her tears as she begins to go north. She notices a shrine in the middle of a pond, but it is surrounded by thorns so she leaves it be for now.

What peaks her interest, and distracts her from her troubled thoughts, is a humongous swampland behind the stable. With its lush green grass, tall trees and even a herd of horses it would have been beautiful.

If not for the destroyed Guardians.

Covered in moss and grime from a century of neglect, the massive graveyard stretches for as far as she can see. Some of the Guardians are lying in the mud, their legs missing and their body parts fallen off. Others look to be in the midst of attack, their spindly legs sprawled out and their heads turned to specific spots on the ground.

Zelda begins to walk among these mechanical monsters, utterly fascinated. She runs her hand across one, brushing away several layers of dirt to get to the weathered surface. It is hard as rock and cold, and once had probably been very smooth to the touch. The rocky designs, of which much has crumbled off, are rougher and brittle now. The legs are cold like metal, with segments breaking the legs apart so that they can move and ending in a three-clawed foot.

 _What could have destroyed so many?_ Zelda thinks, looking out at the swampland with awe.

Although she wishes to inspect every single one, she knows she has to leave. This still doesn’t stop her from briefly looking over some of the ones she passes, which earns her a small collection of screws and a gear that she giddily stores in the Sheikah Slate.

 _Why is this so exciting?_ She thinks as she leaves the graveyard behind.

But as she walks the road, her happy discovery soon devolves back into a guilty pit in her stomach. As much as she tries to push the thoughts away, in the end it is hopeless. She can only see the image of the woman’s leg, crushed into a disgusting mess because of her.

_I must focus on what I did right. Even if I caused it, I was able to undo my mistake. She is alive and safe now. If I can fix that, I can fix my past mistake._

Whatever that mistake was.

As dusk approaches, Zelda steps under the sign of Kakariko. She can hear a Korok above the sign, but doesn’t know how she can interact with them, so leaves it be for now.

Entering the village, she spots a white-haired, red-eyed woman on the ground nursing her ankle. A basket of fruit lies in the dirt as the woman looks up. “Oh, hello. Welcome to Kakariko.”

“Are you alright?”

“Oh yes, it is just a light sprain,” the woman says, slowly standing up and picking up the fruit. “I tripped when coming back, it is nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am,” she nods with a smile. “What brings a stranger to our little home?”

“I am here to speak to Lady Impa. My father told me I could find her here.”

The woman gives her a curious tilt of the head. “You can find Lady Impa at the large house at the back of the village. Although, I wish you luck getting past her guards. They don’t allow anyone inside.”

“Thank you,” Zelda bows her head and walks down the path. The village, although small, is very lively with children playing, farmers working on their crops and a coop full of ruffled Cuccos. Zelda smiles softly, feeling at ease. She approaches the two guards of the large house. “Hello, would I be able to speak to Lady Impa?”

“And what business does an outsider have with her?” One of them asks aggressively, a hand placed on his sword.

“It is an urgent matter.”

“Right,” he says, clearly not believing her. “Why don’t you run along with your ‘urgent matter’. We don’t need outsiders in our village.”

“Wait,” the other guard says. “Is that what I think it is? Is it really a Sheikah Slate?”

Zelda nods, taking the Slate off her belt and holding it out to the man. He doesn’t take it, he just leans forward with an awed look and looks back at Zelda with a relaxed smile. “I see.” The two move aside, the first man now smiling at her apologetically. “Welcome, the Lady has been expecting you,” they both bow to her, making Zelda shift.

“Please do not do that.”

“As you wish,” they both say, standing straight at either side of the staircase.

Zelda awkwardly walks up, seeing a girl cleaning the deck. “Oh!” the girl stands, looking at Zelda curiously. She is like the previous villagers, but she has a red tattoo on her forehead similar to the design on the Slate. “We were not expecting company today. What are you...” her eyes fall on the Sheikah Slate, widening drastically. “Oh my, I see. Come inside, my grandmother has been waiting for you.”

The girl opens the door for her and Zelda walks in. Sitting in the back of the room is an incredibly old woman with a purple-silver eye on her forehead. The woman gives Zelda a near-toothless smile. “My my, has it been so long already? It is very good to see you again, Princess Zelda.”

“You are Lady Impa?” Zelda asks, greatly disliking being called a princess. A true princess would have succeeded in stopping the Calamity.

Impa gives her a look of surprise. “You do not remember me? I was afraid this would happen when I took you to the Shrine of Resurrection.”

“You put me in there?”

“Yes, one hundred years ago. So you have probably forgotten everything, haven’t you?”

“Yes. I don’t recall a single thing before waking up at the Plateau. I’m sorry.”

“There is nothing to apologize for. However, you will need to know the reason why. Be warned, this knowledge will put you in mortal danger. Do you feel ready to remember?”

“Yes, please,” Zelda sits cross-legged at the base of Impa’s seat.

“You were always very eager. Very well.

The history of the Royal Family is the same history of Calamity Ganon. His evil has been stopped time after time by a warrior wielding the soul of a hero, and a princess who carries the blood of a Goddess. As ages passed, each conflict became legends, until they faded from memory completely. So please listen closely, to the legend of ten thousand years ago.

Back then, Hyrule was a highly advanced civilization. There was little threat that opposed them. They realized they must use their advanced technology to ensure the land’s safety, should the threat of Calamity Ganon resurface. So they constructed four powerful mechanical beasts, which were named the Divine Beasts. Alongside them, they built an army of mechanical soldiers, the Guardians. Each Divine Beast had a pilot of exceptional skill from across the land. And so the plan to destroy Ganon was made.

When Ganon returned to Hyrule, the princess and the hero fought alongside these Champions to fight this ancient evil. The Guardians protected the hero from Ganon’s attacks, while the Divine Beasts unleashed their power onto it. And when the hero who wielded the Blade of Evil’s Bane struck his final blow, the princess used her sacred power to seal away Calamity Ganon.”

Impa pauses, allowing Zelda to fully understand the legend.

“One hundred years ago, we looked to our past to follow in our ancestor’s footsteps. Yet, even with our combined efforts and careful planning, we underestimated Calamity’s power. He was cunning and quick, and thus the land fell to his strength. We must never allow this mistake to happen again, so the task of defeating him lies within you.”

“But I already failed once,” Zelda looks away and rubs her stump, feeling it ache. “How can you be sure I won’t again?”

“You have nothing to fear, Zelda; the power of the Goddess lies within you. While your mind has forgotten how to use this power, the blood of Hylia is awoken. Unlocking it will be far easier now.”

“If you are so sure.”

Impa smiles. “I am. Now, I am curious about the state of the Sheikah Slate. May I see it?” Zelda passes it over. Impa turns it on and hums, looking at the runes. “So you’ve unlocked the other runes, but one is missing. That rune had been on the Slate since we discovered it. It was a function we called a camera, it could take pictures of the moment in a quality unlike any painting. You loved that feature,” Impa hands it back. “However, its time in stasis has disabled the rune. You will want to seek out my sister Purah. She can recover the missing data, I’m sure.”

“Where is she?”

“She lives in Hateno Village. But, you should rest. It must have been a long few days for you,” Impa gives her a gentle smile. “Paya, dear?” the girl enters. “Would you mind helping Zelda to the inn?”

“Oh, I can walk myself,” Zelda says, smiling and standing. She then wobbles, clumsily falling onto her knees with a flush.

“You have over exerted yourself,” Impa says firmly. “You must sleep.”

Zelda nods, letting Paya help her out of the house and down the steps. As they walk the short distance, Zelda finds herself nodding off, her feet slogging through the grass as her eyes grow heavy.

She falls asleep as soon as she collapses on the bed.


	3. Instincts

“Once you have spoken to Purah, come back here,” Impa says as she and Paya walk Zelda to the exit of Kakariko. “I will tell you more details about the Divine Beasts once you return.”

“Thank you so much.” Not only had they been kind enough to pay for Zelda’s night at the inn, but they had even bought her a set of Hylian clothing for warmth and protection. Paya had tied Zelda’s useless sleeve into a knot so it would not get caught on anything. “But isn’t it unsafe to leave so close to night?”

“The roads are dangerous no matter if it is day or night,” Paya says. “You will need to be careful at all times and stay alert.”

“Do not worry,” Impa smiles. “You have always been resourceful and cautious. Trust your instincts and you will be safe.”

“Okay, I will try.”

“Be safe!” Paya waves as Zelda leaves the village, waving behind her.

Walking down the canyon, Zelda halts to a stop when she spots a large tree that had not been there the night before. When she gets close, she finds it is actually a huge Korok. He is playing with his hands, mumbling to himself worryingly. “Excuse me?” Zelda taps his side, making him look down and make a small gasp.

“Can you see me?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Amazing!” he laughs, making Zelda smile. These Koroks are very excitable. “My name is Hestu. I’ve never met a person who could see me before. I would help you, but I’m in a bit of trouble.”

“What is wrong?”

“A bunch of monsters stole my maracas, they hold my magic and I can’t do a thing without them,” he frets, holding his face in his hands. “If I don’t get them back, my father is going to be so mad.”

“Where are the monsters now?”

“They are past that,” he points to and arch of stone a few meters away. “Why?”

“I’ll get your maracas back. I know what it feels like to disappoint others,” Zelda finds herself saying this very bitterly and without thought, making her pause. She shakes her head, pushing it to the back of her mind for now. Hestu doesn’t seem to pick up on the bitterness, instead he cheers with his arms in the air.

“Oh, thank you kind lady!”

Zelda walks to the arch and presses her back to it, peaking around to see three blue-skinned Bokoblins sitting around a fire. She summons a round bomb and rolls it to the center, watching as the trio walk to it curiously.

It then blows up in their faces, sending one off the cliff behind them and the other two flying. However, her eyes widen when they pick themselves up with disgruntled grunts and look around. They’re almost unscathed, only covered in minor burns and dust.

She tries to summon another bomb, but it is still recharging. So she takes out a square bomb and tosses it. It pitifully lands two feet away, making her face fall in a deadpan expression. At the very least, one of the Bokoblins inspects it cautiously, poking it. She ducks behind the rock and sets it off, hearing it fly.

She peaks around again to see it dead, its friend nudging it. It lets out an angry snort and she rolls another bomb, setting it off before the Bokoblin notices it.

Now with the cliff safe, she walks through the arch and sees the red maracas hanging from a tree branch. She stands on her toes to get it down and smiles, returning to Hestu.

“You did it!” he cheers, gratefully taking them from her. “Thank you so much!” he sniffs the air. “You have a Korok Seed! I can help you if you give it to me, please!”

She hands it to him and he begins to dance, shaking the maracas with mirth. With a loud pop of leaves, Zelda notices the Sheikah Slate glow. She takes it out and it automatically activates her inventory. Another square is added in the spot labelled ‘weapons’, which is currently full of sticks and a torch.

“Da-na-na-na-naaaaah!” Hestu says. “You’re inventory is expanded! If you find more seeds, I can make it even bigger!”

“Thank you, Hestu,” Zelda smiles, putting the Slate away.

“I have to go now. Bye-bye!” He waves, vanishing with a cloud of dust.

As night descends, Zelda makes it to the Guardian Graveyard. With the aid of her light spell, she finds more screws, plenty of springs and even objects called gears and shafts. These ancient, dangerous soldiers still fascinate her and she is thrilled to collect their parts. Maybe she could put them to good use.

She gets a scare when one awakens, but luckily she hides before it spots her. She then hears the cries of Bokoblins.

Eventually she passes the crumbled walls of an old fort into a small forest, an abandoned cabin sitting within the trees. When she passes the tree line, she spots someone sitting by the side of the road, clenching her leg.

“Oi, stranger, mind lending a helping hand?” she asks.

“Of course. What is wrong?”

“I slashed my leg up trying to fight off a Bokoblin. I’m too far from any stable, would you happen to have any potions?”

“No, but I can heal it.” Feeling a bit more confident after the previous day, Zelda places her hand on the stranger’s leg and lets her magic flow into it. With the gauntlet on her hand it is impossible to see the triangle glow, but she can feel its warmth underneath. The stranger blinks as she takes her hand away, smiling softly. “Is that better?”

“Amazing...” the woman trails off, standing up and putting pressure on the leg. “Truly, amazing. You, my girl, would make an excellent member of the Yiga Clan.”

The hairs on Zelda’s neck stand on end. “Y-you think so?” Zelda winces at her stutter. “My apologies, but what exactly is the Yiga Clan?”

The woman laughs. “Have you been living under a rock? The Yiga Clan is a tribe of strong warriors dedicated to finding the fabled Hero of Hyrule! He’s an ancient legend who vanished one hundred years ago! We seek to find him or his descendants.”

“Why is this so important to you?” Zelda’s heart pounds heavily, her palm beginning to sweat.

“Why, we wish to aid him, of course! We are the only true warriors of Hyrule anymore and with his strength, we could become even stronger. Some in this kingdom call it a foolhardy dream, but we have a true vision of our future. What do you say, will you join us in our endeavour?”

“I’m afraid I must decline, I’m sure you won’t have any need for me,” Zelda rubs her stump, forcing a smile.

The woman laughs, waving her hand. “Nonsense, even a cripple like yourself can rise through the ranks! Come on,” she offers her hand out, “join us.”

“I’m sorry, I really can’t,” Zelda bows her head, gulping quietly.

The woman’s cheerful expression melts into a rather terrifying grin. “I wasn’t asking.”

The woman goes to grab her, but Zelda raises her hand up while summoning flames. Even with the weak magic, slapping the Yiga with fire gives her time to start sprinting up the hill.

It doesn’t take long for the Yiga to appear in front of her in a flash of cloth. She no longer wears civilian clothing, instead she now appears much taller with a skin-tight dark red and black suit. On her face is a white mask with a red, upside-down Sheikah symbol and in her right hand is a large sickle. The inside is coated in dried blood. She swings the sickle at Zelda’s neck, but Zelda yelps and ducks below it.

Only for a knee to connect with her nose. She is flung back, rolling down the hill for a moment before the Yiga jumps and slams her foot into Zelda’s stomach. Gasping for air, Zelda shakes as the Yiga pins her to the ground, gripping her wrist and throat.

“You’ll regret declining the Yiga Clan, you little-”

With her heart pounding in her ears, Zelda lets out a scream as she raises her arm.A stream of fire erupts from her palm, hitting the Yiga in the shoulder. Zelda doesn’t stop the flames, even when the Yiga jumps back and holds her shoulder. She hisses at Zelda, her clothes and skin scorched.

“You’ll pay for this.”

With a flurry of paper, the Yiga vanishes. Zelda stays alert, the flames dying into embers. When there is no sign of the Yiga, she sits up and clenches her fist. She opens it, wincing as it burns.

 _So adrenaline fuels me,_ she bites her lip. _It isn’t reliable, but at least I have a way to defend myself._ She closes her hand, healing the burn as much as she can. She can’t see it, but she feels less of a sting.

Zelda looks out at the night around her, a shiver going down her spine. She pulls her hood closer to her face and sticks her hand into her pocket as she walks up the hill. With the rush of adrenaline gone, she finds her magic drained. She huffs, frustrated. _How am I supposed to build my core if I keep burning myself out?_

-0-0-0-0-

As Impa and Paya had said, Zelda sees Hateno as the sun rises. She nurses a bruise she had gotten from a Bokoblin ambush as she approaches the gate. The gate is wide, fitting between two cliffs with two guards watching her. “Halt!” one says. “What do you want?”

“I wish to enter the village, please.”

“You’re a stranger to us. Why do you want to come in?”

“I need to speak with Purah, it is urgent.”

The two of them raise their eyebrows. “That crazy old Keese? Yeah, sure, because _anyone_ would want to talk to her. Beat it, kid.”

“Wait,” the other guard raises a hand. “Lower your hood.” Zelda does so, casting them a curious glance. They exchange looks. “So you’re a Hylian like the rest of us. Hylians generally tend to be good folk, so we’ll let you in. Just don’t cause any trouble.”

What troubles Zelda is their wording, but she nods and walks through the gate.

Hateno Village is settled at the base of a mountain, using the surrounding hills as naturalwalls. It is much more lively than Kakariko, with many colourful buildings and shops. Carpenters are even constructing more homes up a hill near a shrine, which Zelda makes mental note to visit. As she walks through the town, it comes to her attention she has no idea where Purah lives.

“Excuse me?” Zelda gives a small wave to the pair of women sitting on a bench. “Could you tell me where Purah lives?”

“Oh, her? She lives in that astronomy tower at the top of the cliff,” one of them points to a tall building to the east of the village.

“She’s really crazy, why would you want to talk to her?” the other asks.

“What makes her so strange?”

“She hardly ever comes to the village and is always going on about her next great experiment. We’re all surprised when there _isn’t_ an explosion going off.”

 _Why do they dislike her?_ Zelda wonders as she walks past a farm.

Purah’s home is made up of two portions, a main square at the base and a tower with a telescope at the back. A furnace with a blue flame sits to the side. As she approaches the door, she can hear bickering inside. She can’t make out the words and, feeling a bit awkward, knocks on the door. There is a pause, then a Sheikah man answers. “I’ve never seen you before. How can I help you?”

“I need to speak to Purah, please.”

“Sorry, she’s busy right now. I can pass on a message if you’d like.”

“Yes, please. Could you tell her Impa sent me to ask for help?”

“Yeah. What’s your name?”

“Zelda!” Both jump when a little girl pushes past the man. She can’t be more than six, with huge glasses and a broad grin. “I almost couldn’t believe my ears! Wow, you really haven’t aged a day. Come on in!”

“You know her?” the man asks, stepping aside to let Zelda in.

“Of course! She and I go way back!” the girl laughs, hopping onto a stool and turning to Zelda. “Don’t we, Zel?”

Zelda, highly confused, rubs her stump. “I’m sorry, I can’t say I know you.”

“What? Impossible!” the girl pauses, rubbing her chin. “Actually, maybe it’s not. I admit, I look a bit different, but surly you recognize me!”

When Zelda stays quiet, the little girl puts her hands on her hips. “It’s me, Purah!” Zelda’s eyes widen. “You really don’t know me? I was the one who took you to the Shrine after you were fatally wounded. Not ringing any bells?”

“I’m sorry, no. I can’t remember anything.”

“Hmm, I see,” the little girl pulls a notepad and a pencil out of her hair. “As I suspected, prolonged exposure to the Shrine has caused amnesia in the subject,” she mutters as she writes, then catches Zelda eyeing her. “Oh! Sorry. I can get a bit side-tracked. How can I help you?”

“...Aren’t you a child?” Zelda asks, too confused to keep her thoughts to herself.

“Well that’s kind of rude...Okay, I guess it isn’t. No, this happened after an experiment failed. Well, I say ‘failed’ but it’s been more of a happy surprise. Such is the life of a scientist. So back to the matter at hand, why did you come here?”

“Impa told me you could fix the Sheikah Slate,” Zelda hands it to her. “One of the runes isn’t working.”

“You unlocked the secret runes!” Purah exclaims happily, bouncing in place. Zelda can’t tell if she is normally like this or if her mind has degraded with her age. In either case, her excitement makes Zelda smile. “Amazing! You have to let me see them later. I can fix this easily. Luckily someone was finally able to get our furnace working,” Purah side-eyes Symin.

“The weather was bad before,” he mutters as he puts a few books away.

Purah hops off the stool and walks to a consul like the one on the Plateau Tower. She places the Sheikah Slate inside and they watch the stone above it sing. The droplet falls and Purah takes the Slate back off, giving it a look before nodding and handing it to Zelda. She watches as a blank screen flashes, then twelve photos appear. They are each a place or landscape, giving Zelda a faint sense of déjà vu.

“So how does it look?” Purah asks, snapping Zelda out of her thoughts. Zelda lowers it to let Purah see and she adjusts her glasses in thought. “Hmm, interesting. You had the Sheikah Slate on your person all the time, but I had no idea you took so many photos!”

“This was mine?” Zelda asks, looking back at the pictures.

“Yep. After we discovered the Sheikah Slate, you begged us to let you have it,” Purah laughs at the memory. “We relented, since we couldn’t figure out many of its secrets. You travelled a lot and were always curious. We were certain that if anyone could understand it, it was you.”

“Why me?”

“You had a burning desire for research and learning. You were fascinated with the ancient technology and often studied with us in your free time,” she gives Zelda a bit of a sad smile. “But your duties as princess took over and you got too busy to look into it. I’d ask Impa for more details, she was a lot closer to you.”

“Thank you for your help,” Zelda bows her head.

“Oh, anything for you, Zel,” she grins. “Well, it’s getting late. We were just about to have dinner.”

At the messy dining table, while eating a roasted Cucco, Zelda decides to bring up what the villagers told her.

“Heh, crazy is it? That’s much nicer than normal,” Purah laughs. “Don’t mind them, Zel. They just don’t understand our technology and shun us out of fear. It’s been like this for over a hundred years, after we discovered the ancient tech. Everybody grew nervous around the Sheikah, so we put ourselves into an exile to keep researching.”

“All of you did this? Was nobody angry?”

“Trust me, _plenty_ of Sheikah were angered by this. That’s how the Yiga Clan was born.”

Zelda nearly chokes on her food. “The Yiga Clan?!”

“Do you remember them?”

“No, I ran into one of their members on my way here.” Symin and Purah’s eyes widen.

“You did?! And you got away? How?”

“I burned her,” Zelda holds her palm out and summons a flame. She is happy to see it now fits in her entire palm. “I’m not very good yet, but my fight or flight instincts kicked in and saved me.”

“So you caught her off guard,” Purah fixes her glasses. “The Yiga Clan are highly trained assassins who allied themselves with Calamity Ganon. When they were first founded their goal was to kill you and Link, although you were their main target. Over the last century they have kidnapped and killed many people, so many that everyone is wary of them and are on constant high alert.”

_So that’s why the woman I healed was so cautious._

“She mentioned finding the legendary hero.”

“Yep, you can thank Impa, Robbie and I for that,” she winks. “We started spreading rumours that it was the princess who sealed Ganon, while it was the hero who vanished without a trace. Everything was in chaos that day, no one would remember the truth.”

“Who is Robbie?”

“He’s my colleague up in Akkala. He and I were trying to create a prosthetic for you, but we could never get it done.”

“Wait, so I wasn’t always missing my arm?” Zelda rubs the stump. “How did I lose it?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that. With your memory loss the event might do more damage than good. Maybe you’ll remember on your own. For now we can start making you a new arm, but we can worry about that tomorrow. Symin, could you get the couch ready?”

Lying on the couch, Zelda stays awake and stares at the ceiling, holding her stump as it aches. Purah has answered a lot, but she has also given Zelda more questions. The most pressing matter is how long it will take for them to make a prosthetic from scratch. She is sure they’ll work as fast as they can, but she doesn’t have a lot of time to spare.

 _Is there anything I can do in the meantime?_ Zelda turns her head to the Sheikah Slate sitting on the table. After a few moments, she sits up and takes it. After lighting a candle, she summons her spell book and begins to skim through it. She stops when she sees a page for astral projection.

The spell itself is a bit more advanced, but it is mostly describing an entire projection, not just a small portion. However, even a simple projection recommends mastering telekinesis. Zelda goes back in the book and glances out the window. _I should sleep...But then, how can I with so much on my mind?_

_I’ll just practice for a little while._


	4. Learning Curve

Two hours past sunrise, Purah walks down the tower’s steps to head to the lab. She stops short when she sees Zelda standing at the cliff’s edge. The Sheikah Slate floats in front of her as she uses her hand to summon a spherical bomb. The bomb is caught in a gold-white aura, then tossed off the side. Zelda taps the Slate and the bomb explodes when it reaches a safe distance.

“Zelda?” Purah asks. Zelda turns around, smiling as she takes the Sheikah Slate and fits it on her belt.

“Good morning, Purah. I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

“No, I needed to get breakfast ready,” Purah gives Zelda a curious look, noticing bags under her eyes. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

“No, I couldn’t. I kept feeling restless. But it’s okay, now I can actually hold items,” she smiles, waving her hand over the Sheikah Slate to summon her spell book. It levitates in front of her and she flips through the pages. “I want to be able to make an astral arm for myself while the prosthetic is being created.”

“Smart as always,” Purah grins widely. Zelda blushes lightly. “You learned all this in one night?”

“Yes, although I find myself getting drained very quickly.”

“The more powerful someone’s magic is, the quicker it drains. Your magic was always very strong and, frankly, volatile. You never had the chance to really learn to control it, you just suppressed it, which just made it stronger and more dangerous. You’ll need to meditate a lot if you want to gain better control over it and enhance your core.”

“Father mentioned not allowing me to learn spells,” Zelda says, then tilts her head when she sees Purah make an almost angry face. It is quickly replaced by a smile, making Zelda question if she saw right.

“While you look like your mother, you were always more like your father. Focused and stubborn. The two of you often butted heads because of it.”

“What happened to my mother? Father didn’t mention her dying when the Calamity struck.”

A cold wind blows over the hill, making them both shiver. “Let’s continue this inside.”

Purah stands on a stepping stool to make breakfast, with Zelda watching carefully. “Your mother died from a rare illness when you were about seven. She was the one who was supposed to help you unlock your powers, but without her everyone was at a loss of what to do. I didn’t know her too well myself, but Impa was very close to her. As was Urbosa.”

“Who was Urbosa?”

Purah gives her a bittersweet smile. “She was the Gerudo Champion one hundred years ago. She was very close to your mum and acted as a surrogate to you after she passed away. It was a stressful time for you and Urbosa was always willing to help alleviate that.”

Zelda looks down, feeling a vague stir of comfort. But also a sense of sadness. “She’s gone now, too, isn’t she?”

Purah sighs, closing her eyes. “Yes. We suspect all the Champions were killed that day.”

Guilt rises, despite her best efforts to ignore it.

“But not all is lost. With your return, Hyrule has a chance to be restored. Now, could you go wake Symin?”

After breakfast, Zelda strips her shirt so that Purah can take her measurements. Symin has gone to the village to give them privacy.

“Making the prosthetic will be a bit difficult. We’ll need to make it light-weight, but also durable and probably waterproof. We had a design drawn, but I think Robbie lost it,” Purah makes a face. “I’ll ask if he can find it, or maybe make a new one.”

“Why didn’t you get farther with it?”

Purah sighs. “No one with a missing arm was willing to help us, and we aren’t about to cut off our own limbs.”

“Why wouldn’t they want a better prosthetic?”

“The same reasons they dislike us, they’re afraid. We research runes and Guardians, highly dangerous things. No Hylian wants anything to do with that. We’d like to help the crippled, but we can’t unless they allow it. So for now, we work in solitude. Maybe one day, after the Calamity is destroyed once and for all, they will trust us.”

Zelda wishes she can be so optimistic. She just remains quiet as Purah nods to herself. “Well, you can put your shirt back on. The worst part about all of this will be gathering materials.”

“Why is that?”

“If we want a good, advanced prosthetic we will need parts from Guardians. Their shells, leg segments, screws and that like.”

“I’ve already gathered a few parts from them,” Zelda offers, levitating the Slate. She set the parts onto the table. “Will any of these help?”

“It will be a start. At the very least we can upgrade the Sheikah Slate. Could you put it on the Guidance Stone?” Purah grabs a handful of screws and hops off the stool. She opens a side panel on the consul and tosses them in. When the droplet falls, the screen flashes. Zelda picks it up and watches as a message appears.

**Calibrating Sensor.**

**Shrine Sensor Calibrated.**

**Sensor Upgraded.**

“What is it?” Zelda gives the Slate to Purah. “Oh, good! Now you can track down Shrines easier. Not only that, but ingredients as well. These will be vital to your quest.”

“What exactly are the Shrines?”

“We had theories that only the hero chosen by the sword could enter them, but it seems we were wrong in the end. Maybe it only matters if one has the Sheikah Slate? Ah, but if that were true anyone could enter them. What were inside the Shrines?”

“A puzzle, then an ancient Sheikah gifted me a blessing.”

Purah becomes excited. “There was? How did they stay preserved for so long? What did they say to you?”

“Well they looked like rotten corpses and vanished after I completed their trials, so I think they might have been more spirit than alive. They called me ‘saviour’ and told me they had been waiting for me to awaken. Each on of them told me that ‘the Goddess stands by me’, but I am not sure what they meant.”

“So they have been waiting for you specifically this whole time?” Purah mutters, rubbing her chin and taking out her notebook. “How could they had known you would be put into stasis? Did they know this would all transpire, no matter what we did? What would have changed if Link had been put there instead?” she scribbles frantically, her eyes alight with curiosity. “The Goddess stands by you...it is well known that the members of the Royal Family have the blood of Hylia flowing through them, but she has never appeared in physical form. What do the ancient Sheikah know?”

“Perhaps they mean my sealing powers?” Zelda shrugs lightly. “Impa mentioned that I had awakened the powers before being put into the Shrine, so maybe that is what they were waiting for?”

Purah, still scribbling, gives a small nod. “Yes, that would make a bit of sense. They could have felt your power when it was awoken, if them being spirits is true. They would be able to feel that energy, even when they are so deep in the earth.”

“You really did work together in the past.” The two jump when Symin speaks up, leaning on the door frame. He gives them a small, amused smile. “You bounce off the other’s ideas in seconds.”

“I didn’t realize we had gotten so carried away,” Purah laughs, putting her notepad away. “We would theorize like this for _hours_. I admit, now I’m feeling nostalgic. We can discuss these ideas in better detail later, once I reread the notes. So, do you have any other Runes we can upgrade?”

With her bombs upgraded, now more powerful with a shorter recharge time, Zelda bids the two Sheikah scientists farewell. Now that she has come here, she will be able to warp to the lab when they have news of her prosthetic.

Before leaving the village, Zelda looks at the Shrine on the hill. With a smile, she walks to it.

-0-0-0-0-

Zelda gives a slight shiver as she arrives at Kakariko Village. The warping feels strange to her still, like she is being bathed in cold water. She glances at the Shrine as she walks down the hill, but feels the need to speak to Impa first.

She nods to the two guards, who tilt their heads in greeting. However, one of them doesn’t meat her full gaze. Although curious, she continues on and knocks on the door.

“Welcome back, Zelda. How is Purah doing?”

“She’s turned herself into a child.”

Impa chuckles. “I knew one of her experiments would blow up in her face. Was she able to help you?”

“Yes, she and Robbie will be making me a prosthetic. In the meantime, I’ve learned to levitate objects,” she waves her hand at the Sheikah Slate, having it hover by her head. “She was also able to recover the photo album, and it already had pictures on it.”

“Good, I was hoping they would survive,” Impa lets out a sigh. “You took pictures of every location in Hyrule. Rain, snow or shine, you would always find the perfect shot and take it without hesitation. However, when the time came to put you in stasis, I went through the album and deleted many of the pictures. These twelve held great importance to you in the time before the Calamity, and should be able to help you recover your lost memories.”

Zelda looks at the photos, still feeling déjà vu.

“Now, I think you are ready to hear the details of your mission.” Zelda sits, accepting some tea from Impa. “In order to stop Calamity Ganon, we need the Divine Beasts on our side. They were once piloted by four Champions, who you appointed personally. Mipha of the Zora, Revali of the Rito, Daruk of the Gorons and Urbosa of the Gerudo. When the Calamity attacked, he took control of the beasts and has held power over them ever since. You will need to travel across the land to free them. It will be a long journey, and a difficult one. That is why, for several days, you will stay in Kakariko and learn to fight.”

“Won’t that take too long?” Zelda frowns lightly. “Should I not start immediately?”

“Not without proper training. You cannot rely solely on magic, and you have no experience living in the wilds. You will do no one any good if you cannot reliably defend yourself.”

“But isn’t Link’s power fading? What if he falls?”

“Do not have so little faith in him, Zelda. Link has endured one hundred years, keeping the worst of Calamity’s power at bay. He can hold on just a little bit longer.”

“Father told me that time is short,” she bites her lip, looking down and missing Impa’s dark expression. “If I don’t hurry, the kingdom might be destroyed.”

“The kingdom is already destroyed. It is now our time to fix it, and you won’t if you rush into things. Please, have patience.”

Zelda is quiet for a moment, but nods, giving a small smile. “Okay, I will try. Can we begin now, then?”

Impa chuckles. “Perhaps after lunch. That will give Dorian and Cado time to prepare the training course.”

Later, Zelda follows Dorian to a small area with targets. “We will begin by teaching you how to use knives. They are small, making it easy to conceal them and catch opponents unawares. Today I will teach you to throw them.”

Dorian has trained many people in the past, that much is obvious as he is extremely strict but patient with Zelda. He will adjust her every move, correct every mistake and compliment her should she hit the target. Still, through it all he never meets her gaze.

With his instructions, Zelda at last manages to hit the target consistently. She even gets close to the center one time. Dorian rubs the back of his head, letting out a low whistle. “Lady Impa was not wrong, you are a very quick learner.” Zelda shrugs lightly, flushing lightly at the praise. “You have done well today, Princess.”

“Please don’t call me that,” she says with a wince.

He gives her a curious side-glance. “And why not?”

“I don’t feel I deserve the title. Just...until the Calamity is destroyed, just call me Zelda. Please.”

He is quiet for a few moments, staring at the sky and lost in thought. Zelda tilts her head, but he at last nods. “Very well, I shall respect your wishes, Zelda.”

“Thank you, Dorian. For everything you’ve taught me today,” she smiles at him, then feels her stomach growl. “Shall we go back for dinner?”

“You go on ahead. I have a few duties I must attend to,” he is already walking away. Zelda wonders if she should ask what is wrong, but decides against it. It is not her place to pry into other people’s lives.

Zelda watches closely as Paya cooks dinner, chatting about her training with the Sheikah girl. “Dorian has suffered a lot. He has trust issues and has not been able to look anyone in the eye anymore. Do not fret, Zelda, for he is still recovering.”

She hopes whatever suffering he had in the past will pass one day.

After dinner, Impa instructs Zelda in the proper ways of meditation. Now with the ability of magic, Zelda also levitates the Sheikah Slate in front of her, focusing her powers onto it. The same golden glow surrounding the Slate also shines around her eyes, so she wonders if there is a way to hide that. It will do no good if her enemies understand that her glowing eyes mean she is up to something.

When night descends, Paya brings Zelda to a separate room that has been prepared. Zelda thanks her and is grateful for the bath waiting for her.

Laying in bed, Zelda tries to sleep, but finds herself unable to. She tosses and turns, her mind abuzz with the things she has learned and has yet to know.

_How can I sleep with so much at stake?_

There is a fleeting sense of déjà vu with these thoughts, but Zelda forgets by the time she is leaving Impa’s house. Her Hylian clothes keep her warm in the chilly night as she looks up at the glowing Shrine.

Eyes hardening, she walks up the slope.

After descending, Zelda steps into a giant, open room. There is no puzzle, simply a miniature Guardian in the center.

**Welcome, saviour. If you are to fulfill your destiny, the art of combat is required. Proceed to the Guardian Scout.**

When she steps into the Scout’s square, it comes to life. It twitches and sparks fly off its badly damaged body.

**First, we will test your dodging.**

The Scout swings its blue blade downward, catching her unawares and whacking her arm. Luckily the blade is blunted and merely bounces off her chain mail, although she does feel a small bruise forming.

This time, she watches the Scout’s arm and moves to the side.

**Once more.**

The Scout moves faster, once again catching her arm.

**Once more.**

The Scout gets faster and faster with each success. It does not stop until Zelda fully dodges the attack, then it stops short.

**Very good. Now, that is not the only way to swing a sword.**

The Scout now swings it horizontally, hitting Zelda in the ribs with enough force to knock her down. She narrows her eyes, picking herself back up and bending her knees. It swings again and she hops back, narrowly avoiding it.

**Once more.**

The cycle continues. Now she can feel a nasty bruise on either of her sides, but ignores it for now. She can just heal it later.

After she has dodged the horizontal slice enough times, the Scout freezes again.

**Not only will you face enemies with swords, but also ranged weapons. Dodge.**

She lets out a small yelp when the Scout shoots her with a laser, hitting her in the shoulder.

The laser’s prove harder to dodge. The Scout fires accurately, preemptively shooting every spot she tries to run to. Not only that, every now and then it will shoot rapidly, striking her with three lasers in a row. Panting, Zelda bends her knees as the laser centers on her chest. When there is a light ping, she falls to the floor clumsily and gets back up.

**Once more.**

Her entire body feels afire once she has dodged the lasers enough times. She leans against a wall, wiping her forehead and trying to calm her rapid heartbeat.

**Now that you know the basics of dodging, attack.**

Zelda pushes off the wall and walks back to the Scout. She lights a flame in her hand and holds her palm at it, the fire streaming out. It surrounds the Scout, but doesn’t seem to faze it. Concentrating, with more sweat forming at her brow, she intensifies the heat.

**Hold.**

She can feel her magic draining, but holds. She can feel her hand beginning to burn, the fire flickering back and licking her wrist. Still, she holds. The Scout twitches, but does not move or seem entirely bothered.

**Release.**

She collapses to her knees, clenching her hand into her stomach. The Scout is covered in soot, but looks unharmed from her fire.

**Blunt force will not be your ally. To utilize your magic, be clever.**

_Clever. How can I be clever?_

Zelda closes her eyes to think, hearing the Scout click and spark. She opens her eyes and they lock onto the loose wire. She stands, sprinting around the Scout and firing a thin stream of fire into the small exposed area. The flames eat away at it, burning it up from the inside out as they burst from its cracks.

She does not let up until the Scout stops moving. She stares at her palm, the cloth of the gauntlet burned away revealing her raw skin. She hears a clang and looks to the other end of the room, where a gate has risen. Approaching the Sheikah, she comes across a chest and opens it. Inside is a small opal stone, which she stores.

 **You did well. You must rely on your wit and cunning if you are to save this kingdom. Take this Blessing from the Goddess.** The orb flies into Zelda and she feels her wounds heal entirely. **The Goddess stands by you.**

And so Zelda and the Sheikah are forced from the Shrine.

Zelda exits it, her legs extremely sore, when she spots something curious. Down the path out of the village is a small blue creature, resembling a rabbit. Crouching down, Zelda levitates the Sheikah Slate up and picks the camera rune. Snapping a shot of it, the creature takes notice of her and flees into the trees.

Curious, and still wide awake, Zelda follows it.

The creature vanishes in a light when she comes across a giant, wilted bud. It is easily bigger than a house, with a faint remnant of magic surrounding it. Zelda blinks when she realizes she can feel the magic, and approaches it. When she steps up the colourful stair, she hears a voice.

“Child...sweat child...I am Cotera, Great Fairy of this forest. Once, my spring was beautiful...but through these dark times...my power is faded. Please,” Zelda nearly jumps out of her skin when a hand the size of her opens the bud, “all I ask is an offering...to bring me back to full power...”

“H-how much?” Zelda winces at her own stutter.

“Just one hundred Rupees...is all I ask...”

Zelda takes off her purse, staring at her. One hundred...that’s exactly how much that stranger gave her for saving his sister. She thinks for a moment, then summons the Rupees out and places them in the awaiting hand.

_I did not want this money, anyway. It is better off used by someone who needs it more._

The giant hand retreats into the bud and quickly magic begins to pour out of it. With a large almost-screech, the bud splits open. The ground begins to rumble and Zelda stumbles to stay standing, when a giant woman bursts from the water with a great amount of flair.

Cotera relaxes, resting her head on top of her hand as she regards Zelda with a wide grin. “My my, it has been oh so long since I’ve felt this good. I did not expect to awaken to such a cute face,” Cotera winks, lifting Zelda’s chin with a giant finger.

Zelda’s face turns crimson as she gulps. “I-it was no t-trouble.”

“With my powers regained, I can aid you, little mage,” Cotera leans back. “Should you collect the correct ingredients, I can enchant your armour for you. Oh,” she leans her face close to Zelda, who finds herself blushing again despite herself, “I sense that you already have some.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“The monster parts you have gathered. With them, I can enhance your current clothing to better protect you. Would you like that?”

“Y-yes please,” Zelda gulps again, rubbing her stump absently. Bokoblin horns leave her Slate, floating to Cotera. She crushes them in her hand, then lowers down and blows the dust onto Zelda. The Hylian clothes ruffle and shift, then settle. The hole from earlier is now mended and the cloth feels...thicker, but still as comfortable as before.

“Your set now has more defence,” Cotera looks to the stars. “I can sense my sisters’ powers have also faded. Should you awaken them, our power will grow. When that happens, we can further enhance your gear for you.”

“Thank you, Cotera,” Zelda bows, making Cotera laugh.

“Think nothing of it, little mage. Anything for the Goddess’ blood.”

With another bout of great flair, Cotera sinks into the spring, now bright and alive with magic. Zelda, still fighting off the blush, steps off the flower and turns, taking a picture of the beauty.

Then she spots another blue rabbit near the flower’s base. She rounds the corner, but it runs off before she can get closer. But the rabbit has lead her to a very small cluster of flowers.

Something about the flowers draws Zelda to them. They are small and thin, with one bud and a bloomed white and blue flower. They stir a mix of emotions in Zelda, feelings of anxiety and sorrow, but also hope and happiness. Confused, she takes a picture.

 _Silent Princess..._ she runs her fingers over the petals. What is so special about these flowers to make her feel this way?

After a few moments of staring, Zelda gently plucks the flowers up and stores them in the Sheikah Slate. She has discovered that nothing decays within it, as if put into their own little stasis.

Zelda returns to the village, stifling a yawn. Her eyes feel heavy, yet something in her tells her to ignore it.

When she reaches her room, she takes out her spell book and sits down at the desk, lighting a candle. _Surly I can go one more night without sleep. I need to master telekinesis._

-0-0-0-0-

Rubbing at her eyes the next morning, Zelda follows Cado out to the training range. Because of her telekinesis, he and Impa decided Zelda should learn how to use a bow with it.

“Bows are some of the best weapons in the kingdom, no matter what others might say,” he says as they reach the targets. “A far better projectile than knives, bows are silent and you can stay concealed. I have never taught anyone with telekinesis before, so this will be a new experience for the both of us.”

Cado goes over the normal basics of using a bow, which hand is dominant, the stance taken, the power needed in the draw. Applying it to levitation takes a few attempts, but eventually he and Zelda figure it out. Zelda holds the bow in her hand, taking the correct stance as she her eyes glow and pull back on the arrow. With the arrow close to her eye, she releases it.

The arrow flies over the target and off a cliff, making Zelda wince and hope no one will get struck by it. Cado, for his part, chuckles and claps her on her stump shoulder. “Not to worry, Zelda. You will get it. Give it another try, eh?”

Unlike Dorian, Cado is a lot more easy-going. While still strict, he is quick to laughter and encourages Zelda in a very up-beat tone. He gets excited with each tiny accomplishment and cheerseach time she hits the target.

When it is time to break for lunch, Zelda has already forgotten her lack of sleep and talks excitedly with Impa about her training. In turn, Impa tells Zelda stories of her mother, who was kind, witty and selfless.

Zelda hopes she can be half the woman her mother was.


	5. Bitter Guilt

She can’t sleep again. Even with an aching body, her mind won’t settle. She can’t stop thinking about the spells she has to master, the combat skills she has to learn and the daunting task laid before her.

With a frustrated sigh, Zelda turns over and picks up the Sheikah Slate, scowling when she sees it is eleven thirty. She lies back down, her forearm draped over her eyes.

After a few minutes she gets out of bed and dresses. She sneaks out of Impa’s house and goes behind it to avoid Dorian and Cado, then warps to the shrine. With the clouds overhead, it is easy to get to the gate without being seen. When she leaves the village, she casts a light spell and lets it hover in front of her. It isn’t so bright to attract attention, but it at least lets her see anything that might trip her.

When she makes it to the Ash Swamp, she begins scouring through the destroyed Guardians. While she collects their loose parts, she levitates a notebook and pencil in front of her, writing down any details that might be useful for her prosthetic.

Putting one of the eyes in the palm could prove useful, she thinks as she stands on the front of one, examining the eyeless socket. Having a long-ranged beam like that could surprise enemies. But how will I connect that kind of thing to my mind?

An arrow suddenly misses her head by a few centimeters, making her jump and tumble off the Guardian. Scrambling to her feet, two Bokoblins charge at her, a third preparing another arrow. She waves her hand out in an arc, fire bursting from her palm. The wave hits the first in the face, making it stumble back with a cry. It missed the second and it charged at her, club raised.

Zelda’s eyes glow as she catches its wrist in telekinesis, using the Bokoblin’s own club to hit it over the head. It falls to the ground and Zelda slams the club into the back of its skull, cringing when it cracks and she can see its brain. She shakes her head and aims another fire spell at the other Bokoblin, which now runs at her with a screech. However, it dodges the fire easily, now that it knows she has it.

_Be clever._

Instead of trying to get the Bokoblin, Zelda aims for the grass at its feet. It is one of the few dry patches in the swam, catching quickly and burning the Bokoblin’s legs. It falls over and Zelda summons her practice bow, aiming at the Bokoblin archer, who has been missing nearly every shot in the darkness.

Zelda has a light spell float behind its head, then fires. She misses her shot, giving away her position. The Bokoblin catches her in the shoulder, but luckily her chain mail stops it from going through. She aims again and this time hits it in the neck, making it stumble back. She levitates the club up as she sprints at it, slamming it against its cheek and sending it to the ground.

Panting, Zelda rubs her shoulder and leans back against the Guardian. Despite being queasy at so much blood, she can’t help but feel proud of herself. She can hold her own with the aid of telekinesis and the small amount of training she has done. With a small smile, she pushes off the Guardian and turns to leave, when everything around her suddenly feels eerie.

A harsh wind picks up, whipping her hair into her face and sending a chill down her spine. Then everything is swallowed in some kind of shadow. She looks up and gasps when she sees a blood red moon in the sky.

She can feel pure evil emitting from it, the magic swirling off the surface in a chaotic display as the clouds turn darker and the land is bathed in crimson moonlight. Her heart pounds as pulses of magic burst from the moon’s surface, flying towards the earth rapidly. One of these pulses goes straight through her, sending her to her knees from the bitter cold.

 _Z_ _elda..._ she jolts her gaze up at Link’s voice. It sounds even fainter now. _Run_.

At the warning, Zelda hears a snarl behind her. Looking back, she lets out a short scream when then Bokoblins she had just killed stand. She gets up to run, but a hand grabs her by her hair and pulls her back. With a yelp, she grabs her hair, fire instinctively erupting from her palm. With the hairs burnt, she yanks herself free and falls into a sprint.

Only to run into somebody. The person stumbles back, but catches her. “Oh, hey,” the brother smiles widely, letting her go once she is steady. “I didn’t expect you to be out tonight. Oh, hold on a moment.” He casually walks past her, unsheathing a sword from his belt and running at the closest Bokoblin. The blade slashes cleanly through its skull as the brother keeps running. Grasping the hilt in both hands, he cuts through the second Bokoblin’s abdomen and pierces the archer through the eye.

Any of Zelda’s pride vanishes. She knows she is new to combat, but seeing someone take only seconds to kill a trio of monsters makes her feel inadequate.

The brother, after collecting the horns, returns to her with a smile. “So what are you doing out here of all nights?”

“I was collecting materials,” she gestures to the decayed Guardian. “What about you?”

“My sister and I always come out here to kill monsters that are too close to the stable.”

“How is your sister?”

He grins. “She’s doing fine. Hey, I should introduce you to her!” he grabs Zelda’s hand and tugs her along. She has to quicken her pace to keep up with him. They enter the stable, where his sister is reading a book by candlelight “Hey, Alice, this is the girl I told you about!”

Alice looks up, giving Zelda a look over, then smirks. “I didn’t expect my saviour to be so tiny.”

Zelda blinks, then glances down at herself. Meanwhile, the brother rolls his eyes. “Ignore her, she just remembers how small she was at your age. And Alice, thank her for Gods sake.”

She laughs, her smirk growing into a smile. “Sorry, just teasing ya. Thank you for saving my ass. I didn’t think such a cute mage would be my hero.”

Despite herself, Zelda finds herself blushing deeply. “Y-you’re welcome,” she sputters, casting her eyes to the floor. “How are you fairing? Without your leg, I mean.”

_Gods, I’m acting like a child._

“Eh, hurts like a bitch still. I’m at least alive to feel it. Kane told me the details of what you did. I’m thankful, but why did you help me?”

 _Because I did it to you._ “I could not just leave you there to die. Not if there was something I could do.”

All the guilt comes rushing back, making Zelda rub her arm.

“And I can do more. I have friends in Hateno Village who can make you a prosthetic leg. One that is much better than wood. They are making a prosthetic for me, however they are starting from scratch and need materials from the Guardians.”

This intrigues Alice, who sits up straight. “Really? That’s easy enough with the Ash Swamp. Who are they?”

“The Sheikah scientists.” The siblings grow skeptical at this. “I understand you may not trust them, but they can help you if you want it.”

“Why haven’t they made prosthesis before? Surly they could have benefited others,” Kane asks.

“Not a single person they asked was willing to help,” Zelda explains.

“Why? So many people in Hyrule are missing limbs, why would they be so stupid? Do people prefer having limbs that rot?” Alice huffs.

“That can change now with us. With my missing arm and your missing leg, we can be the base for them.”

The siblings look at each other again, seeming to have a conversation with their eyes alone. After several minutes, they nod to each other and grin at Zelda. “Sounds excellent. We can go in a week or two, once Alice is a bit stronger for travel,” Kane says. “What can we do to thank you?”

“You can give the Sheikah a chance,” Zelda replies, rubbing her aching stump. “They’ve been outcasts for ages, but don’t deserve it. I promise you, they might be eccentric but they are good people.”

“We’ll do that, then. You know, you really are some kind of hero,” Alice says, making Zelda wince.

“I’m no hero,” she mutters, bidding the two farewell.

 _You are,_ she looks up at the sky, the moon once again silver against an inky black sky.

As Link’s voice fades into a distant echo, Zelda has a feeling it will be the last she hears of him for a long time.

-0-0-0-0-

The knife pierces the well-worn target, mere centimeters from the center. Zelda lets out a low huff, running her hand through her hair. Her hand goes past where it ends, still not used to how short it is. Between it getting grabbed and then burned, the best option was to cut it all off. Now instead of reaching her lower back, her hair now sits around her cheeks.

“Well done, Zelda,” Dorian says as she levitates the knife back. “I am impressed at how quickly you learn.”

Zelda shrugs lightly at the praise. “Thank you for teaching me, Dorian. I am grateful to both you and Cado.”

Dorian shifts uncomfortably. Zelda has learned he doesn’t like anyone thanking him, but she can’t help it. It has only been a week since she began her training, and without him and Cado she would have been at a loss.

Then Paya arrives, telling her Impa would like to speak to her.

“I think you have trained enough for the time being,” Impa says as the three enjoy lunch. “With your skills you should be able to start freeing the Divine Beasts. Personally, I would suggest going to Zora’s Domain to free Vah Ruta first. They are closest to Kakariko, and I hear rumours they have been looking for a Hylian to aid them.”

“Why has no one gone there, then?”

Impa sighs. “The relationship between Zora and Hylians was strained before the Calamity, but since then they have all but broken ties outside of their Domain. I will be honest, Zelda, I do not think they will give you a warm welcome. However, I know you can gain their trust. And now that you know all the dangers of Hyrule, I trust you can protect yourself,” Impa gives Zelda a pointed look, making her look down sheepishly.

When Zelda had come back from the Ash Swamp with bruises, burnt hair and a confused expression, Impa had not been very impressed. After scolding her for being so reckless, she could have at least told Dorian and Cado about her walk, Impa had explained what happened that night.

Ever since the Calamity, Blood Moons have been a common occurrence. It happens twice a month, always during the full moon then almost randomly a second time. Towns and stables prepare for the full moon every month, for after this time they are always bombarded with armies of monsters. As Zelda had seen the next day when Bokoblins raided Kakariko.

Luckily, no one had been killed.

After lunch, Zelda leaves Kakariko. With knives hidden on her person and bow on her back, she hopes she might be able to deter any fights. If not, her magic is at least lasting longer. Last night, another night when she couldn’t sleep, she had kept a flame in her hand for several hours.

Not that she had noticed it had been hours.

Before she leaves, she is surprised to find Dorian standing at the entrance. “Thank you again, Dorian,” she says, smiling at him. For the first time since she’s met him, he looks at her face. Not into her eyes yet, but still at her. He opens his mouth a bit, as if to speak, but quickly closes it. After a few more attempts, he sighs heavily and claps a hand on her shoulder.

“Take care, Princess.”

Before she can protest to being called a princess, Dorian leaves with a lowered head. A bit confused, Zelda watches him walk off for a moment before turning. Maybe she will understand one day.

-0-0-0-0-

Zelda walks away from the Duelling Peaks Tower, arm wrapped around her stomach. _Okay, so teleporting can give motion sickness. Understood,_ she takes a deep breath. Despite the upset stomach, she is satisfied. She had made it to the top and expanded her map. Now she walks through the small forest by the river, stopping when she spots a person walking the opposite way.

Now a bit more aware of any danger, Zelda stays on guard as she walks past the stranger. She hears him stop. “A little girl like yourself shouldn’t be out here all alone.”

“I can take care of myself,” she says over her shoulder, still walking.

“...Do you know of the legend of the hero?” the sudden change in topic makes Zelda tense up. “He was said to have been the strongest warrior in all the land. He fought armies alone, killed beasts a strong as Lynels, and defended the Royal Family with the cost of his own life. Truly amazing, don’t you agree? Sometimes, I wonder if such a person ever really existed. Sometimes, I think that such stories aren’t always the whole truth.”

There is a pause, the hairs on Zelda’s neck stand on end.

“Don’t you agree...Princess?”

Zelda turns, a knife flying at the assassin’s face. To her shock and horror, he catches it between two fingers and throws it back. It slashes past her neck, grazing it, and the Yiga rushes her. She coats her entire arm in fire as she dodges clumsily, slamming her forearm into his stomach. He grunts, grabbing her by the ear and tossing her aside like a rag doll.

She rolls in the grass, scrambling to her feet and levitating the Sheikah Slate up. Hastily, she takes out a bomb and throws it at him. He laughs, jumping back, but lands next to a square bomb Zelda had placed moments before the fight. She sets the bomb off, making him cry out as he is flung into a tree. Zelda takes out her bow and fires a shot, missing as the Yiga vanishes in a flash of paper.

A laugh above her alerts her to the danger. She jumps to the side, turning to catch a foot to the face. Sent onto her back, the Yiga jumps in the air and comes down with his knee. She rolls to the side, getting to her feet and throwing several knives from all directions.

The Yiga deflects all of them with his sickle, then rushes Zelda again. Without thinking, she teleports out of his swing and behind him. He takes pause, then a knife plunges into his back. He swings back, his weapon missing Zelda’s throat by mere millimeters, and a knife sinks into his eye.

With a cry, he back-flips out of reach and growls. Without another word, he vanishes.

The sense of danger passed, Zelda rubs her neck. She winces at the sting, healing the cut up. She waits for her heart to stop pounding before walking on, disturbed. _He_ _knows_ _who I am. Impa had told the kingdom Link survived, not me. How did he know?_

Gulping lightly, Zelda just continues following the road. As night falls, she finds herself at the base of the Great Plateau. She ducks behind a piece of rubble, bringing up the Sheikah Slate and swiping through it to find her new set of clothing.

Through doing chores for Kakariko, Zelda gained enough money to buy Sheikah clothing known as the Stealth Set. Being snug and dark coloured, Impa assured her it will help her stay nearly silent should she want to avoid danger. It is a bit more difficult to put together than the Hylian set, but with her telekinesis she is able to get the most important parts on.

And with the scarf/mask, her face won’t be recognized.

Skirting around the Forest of Time, and avoiding the Moblins within, Zelda gets to some town ruins and sees a giant lake. With the moonlight, she notices the white-barked trees sitting along the west side. Something stirs within her, prompting her to walk there instead of staying on the road.

The closer she gets, the more she is sure. She has looked over the pictures in her album constantly over the week, memorizing each and every detail.

So as she approaches the birch trees, she turns to face the Duelling Peaks. To confirm her suspicion, she pulls the Slate out and selects the second picture. Holding it up, she switches to camera mode and takes the exact same picture.

She suddenly feels dizzy as déjà vu hits her forcefully. Woozily, she lowers the Slate as she sees... herself walking among the trees. Behind her is a man with golden-blonde hair and dark blue eyes, who can only be Link.

_**Walking through the birch trees of Lake Kolomo, Zelda held the Sheikah Slate in front of her as Link followed behind silently. They had been quiet for so long, so Zelda decided to break it. “Once we make it to Goron City, I need to make some adjustments to Vah Rudania so that Daruk can handle it more easily. He’s figured out how to get it to move, however it’s apparent that we have much more to learn.”** _

_**She could feel his eyes looking at her back, making her feel tense. Still, he did not say anything.** _

“ _ **But to think, the Divine Beasts were actually built by people. Because of that, we should be able to understand how they work and how to use that to our advantage. These Divine Beasts...so much we don’t know...but if we want to turn back Calamity Ganon, they’re our best hope.”**_

_**At this excitement, Link smiled.** _

_**Slowly, Zelda came to a stop, her arms dropping. Link gave her a sad look as she turned her head to him. “Tell me the truth...how proficient are you wielding that sword on your back?”** _

_**Link had worn the Master Sword ever since he found it all those weeks ago. He fidgeted, but said nothing.** _

“ _ **Legends say that an ancient voice resonates inside it. Can you hear it yet...hero?” Zelda asked, her ever-present bitterness seeping into her voice.**_

She watches the images walk off into dust, letting out a light gasp. She rubs her forehead, full of confused guilt. Why had she been like that? From what she was told, she and Link had been friends. But she felt the emotions of her memory, she had felt agitated and angry towards him. She had even felt justified in them. _Why would I feel that way? What had he done?_

After lingering on these thoughts for a moment, Zelda realizes something else. _Wait, I had both of my arms!_ As much as she dislikes it, she replays the memory in her head, blinking rapidly in curiosity. _How long before the Calamity was this?_

Standing frozen in place, Zelda slowly puts the Slate away and walks back to the ruins. Hopefully other memories won’t leave such an awful taste in her mouth. But even with such an unpleasant memory, Zelda feels just a bit more assured. She had worried that this wouldn’t work, but now looks forward to what she might remember about herself.

To help clear her mind from the bitterness, Zelda begins to take other pictures. Mushrooms, bugs, flowers, even a sleeping Moblin are captured in her album. Whenever she takes one, that object is then added to a large database, which names each. There are multiple categories and if she selects one, she can find that object more easily.

But mostly, she just takes pictures because it is fun.

In the middle of the night, she spots a stable. She doesn’t want to disturb them or make them suspicious, so she stays hidden from their sights. But then she spots a familiar large shape a few feet away from it, and smiles as she approaches Hestu. “Oh, hello!” he greets her with a shake of his maracas. “I did not expect to see you again so soon, kind lady!”

“Just call me Zelda, please.”

“Okay, Zelda lady!” he sniffs the air. “Oh! You have met more Koroks!” The little guys were truly everywhere. “Would you like me to expand your inventory?”

“Yes please.”

“Okay! What would you like me to do?”

“My bows, please.”

“Excuse me, child,” Zelda jumps when a woman approaches her with a quirked eyebrow. “Who are you talking to?”

It is a bit hard to pay attention to the woman while Hestu is dancing with his maracas very loudly.

“I was thinking out loud to myself,” Zelda lies, although judging from the look she gets it isn’t convincing.

“I think twelve is a bit old to have imaginary friends, my dear.”

“...I’m seventeen.” At least that was what Impa had told her.

The woman continues to give her a disbelieving look. “Hmm...very well. You know, it is very rude to not keep eye contact.”

 _It is a bit impossible with a living tree still dancing,_ she thinks as there is a loud pop from Hestu’s maracas.

“Don’t worry, Zelda lady!” Hestu walks up to the woman and blows on her face, making her shiver and go inside the stable. “They can’t see us, but we can still play pranks on them.”

“Thank you,” she whispers out the side of her mouth. Discreetly, she asks Hestu to expand her Bow capacity two more times before he tells her he’s run out of magic for now.

“If you want to find me, come to the forest up north! Bye, Zelda lady!”

He doesn’t even poof away like last time. He just walks along, whistling and shaking his maracas.

Zelda smiles after him, then turns to the Shrine on the hill. The constant beeping of the Sheikah Sensor had not helped her concentration.


	6. Zora's Domain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late! I was away for a couple of days, then got sick. I kind of got carried away with this one.

Zelda looks down from Lanayru Tower, watching the river below rush by. Inhaling deeply, she closes her eyes. Her core comes to life, the magic flowing through her body to a specific point; her stump. Her joint aches at the barrage of magic, but she ignores it. There is a final burst of magic, creating a searing hot pain before dissipating entirely.

Slowly, Zelda opens her eyes and looks down at her side. Her heart pounds loudly in her ears as she brings up her new astral arm. It is almost see-through, but has a strong outline of shimmering gold light. Shakily, she brings her right hand up to it and grips the wrist, finding it to be solid. She pokes and prods her magical arm, a smile growing wider on her face every second.

After several sleepless nights, she has finally gotten the spell perfect.

She moves the astral arm around, flexing the fingers, rolling the wrist and grabbing the Sheikah Slate. She lets go of the Slate, letting it hover in front of her, and summons a bomb, holding it in _both_ arms.

She lets the bomb return, falling to her knees in relief. The spell is strong enough that it will last for a few hours, perhaps that will be enough time to travel up Zora’s River. It will slowly become less solid over time, but for now this is all she needs. Until her prosthetic is made, this will be her best option.

Jumping to her feet happily, she pulls out the Paraglider for the first time since leaving the Plateau. She has a slight sense of feeling through her astral arm, allowing her to judge the grip correctly.

With a boost of confidence, she leaps off the tower, no longer afraid of falling. Despite herself, she lets out an excited laugh as she glides to the other side of the river. Once again on solid ground, she stores the Paraglider and claps to herself, wincing a bit when her astral arm strikes a bit harder than she intends.

“Amazing! I have never seen such skills from a Hylian before!” an excited voice from above makes her look up. A crimson Zora stands on a pillar near a bridge, smiling down at her. He flips off the pillar, landing gracefully in front of her. By all rights everything about this Zora should be intimidating; he is so tall she hardly comes to his waste, the fin on his head is akin to a shark, as are his teeth and his yellow eyes have slit pupils.

Yet Zelda doesn’t feel uneasy. Despite all these traits, his very presence feels energetic and happy, making it impossible for her to feel scared.

“You came at the perfect time, Hylian,” the Zora says with a wide smile. “We have been looking for a Hylian to aid us for months now, but no one was willing. Then you arrive! I am Sidon, Prince of the Zora.”

Zelda bows. “It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness. My name is Zelda.”

“Zelda?” he rubs his chin with a hum. “Strange, that name sounds familiar. Very well, Zelda, since you’ve come so far will you help us?”

“Of course. I was already on my way to the Domain.”

“Wonderful!” he leans forward, balling his fists in excitement. “I can explain with my father once you have gotten to the Domain, but for now know you have my gratitude. It is a dangerous hike on a good day, but there has been constant rain here since our problems began. The rocks and ground are slippery and the river is far too fast for a human to swim in. Aside from that, there are also Octoroks and Lizalfos. The former aren’t that difficult, but the Lizalfos can camouflage and have access to shock arrows, which hurt us Zora a lot.”

“And with the rain they can strike puddles.”

“Exactly. But I have something to help you!” he hands her a bottle with a yellow-orange liquid. “It is a shock resistant potion. Zora can’t take it, but you can!”

Zelda drinks it, sputtering at how sour it is. Sidon chuckles, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry, I should have warned you. Anyway, I can go on ahead and take care of any Octoroks that might give you trouble. It will probably take a day to get up the river, so I hope you have enough food. Be careful!” with a thumb’s up and a large grin, he back-flips into the water and begins to swim up the river, killing an Octorok on the way.

Zelda watches him go and secures her hood, walking across Inogo Bridge and looking up the path.

She doesn’t even take a step before she trips over something, making her mutter into the mud. She looks over her shoulder at a Lizalfos that has her ankle wrapped in its tongue. As it pulls her across the ground, she focuses her magic into her leg and watches as fire erupts from it. The Lizalfos lets go with a screech, holding its scorched tongue as Zelda stands, the fire alive as she kicks at its leg. It falls and she slams her foot down onto its chest, intensifying the spell directly onto its heart.

It stops flailing and she lets the flames die, wincing when she feels her skin sting. There are patches in her pants now and her skin is raw. _I need to be more careful about burning myself,_ she thinks as she heals the wounds. She frowns when they leave faint scars behind. _Much more careful._

-0-0-0-0-

Zelda rests on the south side of the Great Zora Bridge, nursing her sore calves and healing any acquired wounds. While the rain had helped her sneak by most enemies, she is by no means a master and had often been spotted and shot at. With the resistance to shock arrows she managed to avoid any serious injuries, but that hadn’t stopped them from being painful.

She rubs her stump, the astral arm now depleted. Now the skin itches and aches, but she can ignore it for the most part.

After making herself look presentable, as in not showing up in dirty Sheikah clothing, Zelda walks across the bridge and looks upon Zora’s Domain with awe. It is large and lively, with children running about, guards at the ready and others talking in small groups. As she passes a trio of female Zora, she hears them whispering about how hansom Prince Sidon is.

Zelda wonders if Sidon knows about the girls flushing at the mere thought of him.

When she reaches the top of a staircase, a loud scream makes her jump. An elderly Zora stands near a shock arrow, shaking his hand rapidly. His forearms and legs are covered in shock burns. Once he recovers, he leans back over and touches the arrowhead again, causing another scream.

Zelda, worryingly, walks up to him. “Excuse me? Are you alright?”

“Bah, I’m fin-” he turns to her and instantly freezes. His eyes widen in shock upon seeing her, but slowly narrow into slits. “ _You_ ,” he spits with such venom Zelda takes a step back. “You have some nerve crawling back here after all these years, after everything you did to us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t act so stupid,” he growls. “Don’t think for a moment you are welcome here, _Princess_. The young ones might not remember you, but I will never forget the face of the one who took our Lady Mipha away from us. You were the one who came here to recruit her into becoming a Champion. She’s only dead because of you and your selfish desire to complete a stupid prophecy.” He leans down close to her face. Zelda is too frozen to move away.

“And yet, even after everything the Champions had done, you could not even stop the beast. They had all done their part, but you could not do anything. You were useless in the end, a complete waste of our time and efforts. So tell me, _Princess_ , why is it that after a century, our Champion is dead and you still walk among the living, when all of this is the fault of your failure? Did you run and hide like a coward all this time, trying to have us forget so you could come back and act like some kind of hero? Ah, of course. He is dead, too. Died trying to save the entire kingdom, while you did nothing of worth.”

“I-I was sleeping,” Zelda says weakly, staring at the ground.

“There is no excuse for what you have done!” he leans in closer to her face. “I suggest you turn around and leave, before you fail again. Now,” he turns back to the shock arrow, “I must become resilient to these arrows. I need to fix what you destroyed.”

All guilt Zelda has pushed aside rushes back. She hugs herself, her eyes burning. _Don’t cry, don’t cry_ , she thinks, but swiftly turns away from the elder Zora when the tears come. Since she woke up she’s had everyone tell her none of this is her fault, but that hasn’t stopped the guilt. She had believed them, but it was hard not to listen to the voices in your own head, especially when one travelled alone. But now that flimsy belief is shattered.

The old Zora is right about her. She is just a useless coward. The King told her she used the sealing powers before falling, but they hadn’t mattered in the end. She had killed the Champions and failed Hyrule. Now Link has had to be completely alone for a century, fighting a monster who is beginning to win.

_I should have died with them._

“Zelda!” Sidon waves cheerfully as he runs up to her. “Good, you made it! Come on, father would like to see you.”

“I should go. I don’t feel well,” she backs away, but Sidon gently grabs her arm and pulls her along. She can feel the elder Zora staring at her back and is now far more aware of the hostile glares from others.

“Ignore them,” Sidon tells her, letting her go and giving her a small, sad smile. “They’ve never liked Hylians.”

 _That’s not the reason,_ she thinks as he guides her into the throne room.

Zelda balks at the sheer size of the Zora King, who is easily the size of a whale. To his left is an elder Zora with a manta ray head, who gives Zelda a scornful look. She flinches as she tears her eyes away, expecting the Zora King to be looking at her the same way.

So she is surprised when he gives her a fond smile instead. “By the Gods, so it is true. You survived after all this time and have at last returned to us. When Sidon told me your name, I almost did not believe what I had heard. It is an honour to see you again, Princess Zelda,” he says, bowing his head low.

“Wait, you’re the _Princess_? Huh, my memory is worse than I thought,” Sidon laughs, rubbing the back of his head. “That would explain why you were so familiar.”

“Why do you look surprised? Do you not recognize me?” the Zora King leans forward.

“I was put into stasis to heal,” she explains, wondering how much longer she will have to do so. “I lost my memories because of it.”

“Hmm, that is troubling,” the Zora King sighs. “I hope they return to you eventually, Princess.”

She winces. “Please, do not call me princess. I don’t deserve it.”

“Why don’t you deserve it?”

“Because a real Princess would have saved the kingdom. I failed to, so I shouldn’t have any sort of title,” she looks to the floor, the recent words of the Zora and all her guilt floating through her head.

“If that is what you wish. But now that you are here, I suppose we should move on to other matters. The danger Sidon told you about is the cause of the Divine Beast, Vah Ruta.”

“Vah Ruta is the reason for the rainfall,” Sidon carries off. “It has poured here for so long that the reservoir is now close to overflowing. If the dam holding it breaks, it will flood the entire valley. People will die if this continues. We have been looking for help from a Hylian for so long now, but none have been able to help us.”

“Why do you need a Hylian’s help?”

“Vah Ruta has advanced technology that we do not understand,” the King says. “It can create projectiles out of ice to attack and has four sources of power on its back. We know that shock arrows can destroy these power sources, but us Zora are highly susceptible to them. However, a Hylian can wield them.”

“The only problem with that is that the only way to get onto Vah Ruta’s back is through climbing the waterfalls it creates. A human can’t normally do this, but we have something that will help,” Sidon says, walking up to Zelda and handing her a blue tunic.

“Sire, stop this foolishness at once,” the manta-ray elder at last speaks. “How could you give the Zora Armour to _her_ of all people? Lady Mipha crafted that with her own hands! It is only meant to be worn by the one she was sworn to marry.”

“Muzu, Princess Zelda has answered our call to aid, one of few who have,” the King says. “It is true Mipha made this for her love, but he is no longer among us.”

Zelda stares at the clothing for a moment, taking in the details as everything clicks into place. A Zora would need no aid to climb a waterfall, so this had to have been made for a Hylian. She unfolds it, holding it to herself. It looks a bit big for her, broader too. But from a recent memory, she can hazard a guess. “Link,” she murmurs, looking up at the King sadly. “This was made for Link, wasn’t it?”

Muzu looks shocked at this, but Sidon nods. “She wanted to give it to him after the Calamity was destroyed.”

Muzu makes a great huff and storms off, muttering under his breath.

“Then Muzu is right, I can’t take this. I don’t want to betray their love for each other,” she holds it back out to Sidon, but he refuses to take it. At the exit of the throne room, Muzu pauses and looks back. “Please, I can’t help you. You have to find someone else.”

“But you have already come all this way. Why would you want to leave now?” the King leans forward slightly.

“Because all of this is my fault! I’m the reason Calamity Ganon destroyed the kingdom, I’m the one who got Mipha killed! If I hadn’t forced her into becoming a Champion she would still be here. You should hate me like everyone else.”

“None of that is true,” Sidon says, crouching down. “You did not force Mipha, she knew the risks and still became a Champion despite of them. She wanted to help the kingdom and was prepared for her fate. I don’t think any of us expected it to be so soon, but what happened was not your fault.”

“Mipha and Link would understand. They would not be angry at you for using the armour, I promise you. The both of them cared deeply for you and would be proud of what you are doing,” the King says.

“Besides, even if it was your fault, aren’t you doing something about it now?” Sidon asks with a gentle grin. “Didn’t you come all this way to make everything right?”

Zelda looks down at the armour, nodding. Her doubt and guilt lingers, but in the end they are right. Besides, she has a feeling this is a fight she won’t win. “Very well. Where can we find shock arrows?”

“Muzu knows!” Sidon says cheerfully, but doesn’t spot the elder in the room. He sighs.

“I apologize on Muzu’s behalf, Zelda,” the King says. “He was Mipha’s teacher, so he was as close to her as we were. Not all of us have moved past her death, the elders especially.”

 _Oh, I know_.

“Forget the elders,” Sidon rolls his eyes. “I’ll try to talk to Muzu, he’s probably sore about not knowing Link and Mipha were in love. We kept it secret from him because he always hated Hylians, even before the Calamity. Get that armour on and meet us at Mipha’s statue.”

With that he runs out of the throne room. Zelda hesitates.

“Zelda,” she looks up at the King. “I did not want to bring it up with them both in here, but do you know what happened to your arm? Last time I saw you, you had both.”

“I don’t remember, no,” she replies. “When did I see you last?”

“Hmm...I believe the last time I saw you in person was when you recruited Mipha,” he sighs. “I realize that was not very helpful. You were so busy afterwards, you hardly had time to write letters to me. I suppose if you had lost it between that time and now you would not have been able to tell me.”

“I see. Well, that is another mystery that can wait,” she bows to him and he gives her one in return. With that, she leaves the throne room and enters an empty side chamber. She hides in one of the corners to ensure no one sees her.

She awkwardly looks at her reflection in the silver-plated mirror. She is very right about it being too big for her. From the memory, Link wasn’t much taller than her, but he had the build of a warrior. Meanwhile, Zelda has the build of a scholar who hasn’t seen the sun in decades.

Considering where she was for a century, she isn’t far off.

Any muscles she might have had before are now nearly non-existent. With her training she has gained a bit, but not nearly enough to fill out the arms, legs and torso of the Zora armour.

Feeling foolish, she leaves the chamber and spots Sidon. He is so tall it is hard to lose him. She slowly approaches as she hears him and Muzu talking.

“...think Zelda wanted this? For everyone she knew and loved to die?”

“She should have tried harder if she wanted to succeed.”

“Muzu, you are not listening to me,” Sidon lets out a sigh, rubbing his temple. “Repeat this after me; did Zelda want all this to happen?”

“No.”

“I want you to say it.”

“I will not have you speak to me like a child.”

“You could have fooled me. You’ve been acting like one.”

“I forbid you from using those tactics on me,” Muzu huffs. “But, fine, if it pleases you. Did the Princess-”

“Did _Zelda_.”

A sigh. “Did _Zelda_ want all this to happen...”

“Did Zelda want her friends and family to die?”

“...Did Zelda want her friends and family to die...” Muzu looks down with a scowl. “I can’t forgive her.”

“You shou-”

“You don’t have to,” Zelda says, walking up to them and awkwardly shifting from foot to foot.

“Zelda-”

“It’s okay, Sidon,” she gives him a weak smile. “Muzu doesn’t have to forgive me. He shouldn’t. I don’t forgive myself, so it would be bad of me to expect others to.”

“But it isn’t your fault.”

“It has to be my fault, on some part. I didn’t intend for this to happen, but intentions can only go so far. Intent means nothing of the end result,” Zelda bows deeply to Muzu, closing her eyes. “I am sorry I could not save her, but please help me save the rest of you. I know it will not make up for my failure, but I refuse to have more die because of me.”

“...Polymus Mountain.”

She looks up at him in surprise. Muzu is looking at the fountain, where there is a statue of Mipha. “You can gather shock arrows on the mountain peak. There is a Lynel there who has them, but it also uses the trees as targets.”

“Thank you, Muzu,” Zelda bows again.

“Heh, the armour is a bit big, but it will do,” Sidon says, pulling Zelda away. “I wasn’t expecting him to concede so quickly. But really, you shouldn’t blame yourself.”

“It’s hard, but I’ll try,” she says in a halfhearted tone. “So how will I get to the peak?”

“The best way is to use the waterfalls,” he gestures to several huge waterfalls in the surrounding mountains. “I don’t think you ever climbed them before.”

“I don’t even know if I can swim.”

“Oh, I can teach you!”

“I can’t conjure an astral arm again so soon.”

“So that’s what that was,” he says absently. “Well, no matter! I am the best swimming teacher of the Domain, I even retaught veterans who have lost limbs! It will be easy, I promise. Besides, it wouldn’t do Hyrule any good if you went and drowned,” he gives a laugh, but only ends up making Zelda more nervous. Sensing this, he rubs the back of his head and his laugh turns awkward. “Err, never mind.”

They come to the underside of the Domain, Sidon getting into the water. Zelda wades in beside him, hesitating for a moment at the edge of the shallows. “I’m right here,” Sidon encourages. She nods, using the last bit of footing she has to push herself. She tries to kick her legs to stay afloat, but finds herself sinking. Arms quickly wrap around her and pull her up. She lets out a small cough as Sidon pulls her back to where she can stand. Sidon continues to hold her as he lets out a light chuckle. “I think you have the right idea, but you haven’t swam since losing your arm, I’m guessing.”

This only brings the question of _when_ to Zelda’s mind as Sidon puts her down.

“Okay, first I will teach you how to float in the water.”

-0-0-0-0-

“He really did that?” Zelda laughs, sitting on Sidon’s stomach as he floats in the water, one arm behind his head.

Over the last several days, the two have become fast friends. Between the swimming lessons and Sidon keeping her company, mostly due to the hostile glares, they find the other easy to talk to. From culture to jokes, they always find a new topic to discuss.

Currently, Sidon is telling her stories she had forgotten about Link.

“Yep, was really proud of himself, too,” Sidon chuckles. “He was able to fly on the raft for a few minutes, but then a bird popped one of the balloons. He fell off and broke his arm. Mipha was caught between anger and worry, while you were laughing at a picture you took of him falling. You stopped laughing seeing he was hurt, then showed them the picture once he was healed and began to laugh again.”

Zelda is thankful for these in-depth stories. Her only true memory of him is full of bitterness, so these help ease those feelings.

“So,” Sidon leans his head back, “do you feel ready to scale Toto Waterfall?”

That is the waterfall north of the Domain, and the largest one in the area. Zelda looks at it, gulping a bit. “Don’t worry, we’ll go together so you can get a feel for it.”

Zelda nods slowly and slips off his stomach, treading water as he flips over. She climbs onto his back and he swims towards the waterfall, Zelda nervously biting her lip. She has tried scaling the smaller waterfalls around the Domain, and while she is clumsy she is capable. This just feels like a very big step.

They reach the base and Sidon looks back at her. “Ready?”

She nods wordlessly. Her stomach lurches as, almost effortlessly, he dashes forward and begins to climb. Diving in and out of the vertical water makes her heart pound, but she soon finds herself laughing along with Sidon the farther they go up. When they reach the top, Sidon flips and catches her arm, landing them both safely on the platform.

“See? Easy,” he grins widely, looking down at the Domain. “You know, I...”

His voice fades into the background when Zelda suddenly grows dizzy. She holds her forehead, then notices ‘spirits’ appear before her. Mipha and herself.

_**Zelda and Mipha were at the top of Toto Waterfall of Zora’s Domain, Mipha leaning on the edge with Zelda standing near her. “So, Princess, may I ask who the other chosen Champions are?” Mipha asked, standing up and facing her.** _

“ _ **Goron vigilance, Daruk. Rito confidence, Revali. Gerudo spirit, Urbosa. And also...” Zelda paused, holding her hands together and feeling the bitterness rise. “The Hylian with the sword that seals the darkness...Link.” Zelda almost couldn’t say the name.**_

“ _ **Oh,” Mipha said quietly, a soft smile on her face. As she walked to the edge, she spotted someone in the waters below. Zelda inched towards the edge, feeling nervous being so high, and saw a spec of red. “Sidon, hurry and swim up here!”**_

“ _ **Mipha,” Zelda said, uncertain, “perhaps he’s still too young to swim up this giant waterfall.”**_

“ _ **One day, Princess,” Mipha held her hand to her chest, giving Zelda a warm, small smile, “I must leave him to face my fate with Ruta.” Mipha gave her a small grin, then dove off the side in a spin. She landed on the waterfall itself, using it to slide downward. When she reached the middle, she jumped off and dove into the water by her brother.**_

_**Zelda watched in fearful fascination, her own heart pounding for Mipha’s sake.** _

_**Down in the water, Sidon climbed onto Mipha’s back and she swam up the waterfall at a break-neck speed. When she reached the top, she twirled and caught Sidon’s hand, landing and setting him down gently. Mipha crouched and gently touched his face. “Sweet Sidon, should fate ever part us, I’m counting on you to protect our beloved home from harm. Understood?” Quietly, Sidon nodded, although Zelda wondered if he truly did understand. “I believe in you,” Mipha said with a smile. “Now, shall we try one more time?”** _

_**With that, Sidon gave a large grin with an arm motion, making Mipha giggle. The two of them laughed and embraced as Zelda watched on.** _

The spirits vanish in a puff of dust. Zelda blinks when she sees a hand waving in her face. Shaking her head, she looks up to a concerned Sidon.

“Are you alright? You looked like a statue.”

“I...I remember the day I recruited her,” she says quietly, looking at the spot she had once stood in.

“Oh,” Sidon sighs softly. He looks deep in thought for a moment, then nods to himself. “Right, that day. You know I was feeling Déjà Vu on the waterfall,” he admits, rubbing the back of his head with a chuckle. “Was it a good memory?”

“...Bittersweet,” she says. _Although more on the bitter side._

“I hope you get better ones soon,” he tells her.

“I do, too.”

She looks to the east at Polymus Mountain. “I think it’s time I go there. We need to free the Divine Beast.”

The dam was going to break in a matter of days, according to King Dorephan.

“Okay. I’ll wait here for you.”

“Right, we don’t need a bright red target for it to hit,” she says with a smile as she leaves, hearing him laugh behind her.

After walking through the strangely quiet hills, Zelda is nearing the top of the mountain when there is a mighty roar. She walks past a tree, then nearly jumps out of her skin when something screams by her. There is a thud and she finds a Bokoblin pinned to the tree by an arrow through its chest. It twitches as lightning courses through it, then becomes limp.

Eyes wide, Zelda turns to the clearing.

About a dozen Bokoblins surround the Lynel Muzu had told her about. The giant horse-beast bites down on the torso of one Bokoblin, stomps on the head of another and slices a third in half with its axe. It lets out another roar as an arrow shoots it in the hindquarters. It kicks back, smashing the Bokoblin’s head into pieces.

After watching slack-jawed for several more moments, Zelda numbly ducks behind a rock and presses her back to it. Her eyes scan the area and she spots arrows sticking out of trees, their tips glowing. With a firm nod to herself, she gets into a crouch and peaks around the rock. The Lynel is still occupied, so she begins to sneak over.

She gathers three arrows when there is a new roar. Two Moblin charge at the Lynel now, coming out from behind some rocks opposite Zelda’s side. She turns away and quickly hides behind a tree, looking for more arrows.

With the beasts distracted, she manages to skirt around unnoticed, collecting a total of seventeen arrows. She looks at them with a frown, knowing that it will probably not be enough. There are more arrows closer to the clearing, but also the matter of the Lynel and Moblin fighting to the death. The other Moblin lies dead at the Lynel’s hooves.

Biting her lip, Zelda decides to take the risk and get closer to the fight. She gathers a few more arrows when there is a sudden loud roar and a body slams in front of her. With a yelp she falls onto her backside, looking up in horror as the Lynel gets to its hooves. It roars, charging forward and over top Zelda. By some stroke of luck, it doesn’t crush her with its hooves. But then its tail smacks her in the face, making her roll in the dirt.

She shakes her head and gasps, seeing the two giant beasts fighting above her. She gets up and tries to run, but has to avoid getting crushed as the two monsters stomp the ground. This not only nearly kills her, but causes dust to rise, making it hard for her to see. The stomping suddenly stops and the dust settles enough for her to see them interlocking hands and snarling at one another.

She moves to get away, but the larger Moblin violently jerks the Lynel, grabbing it in a headlock and slamming it into the ground.

And on top of Zelda, who lets out a short scream as she is crushed. Barely able to breathe or think, her instincts flare to life and she teleports.

She lands on her back at the base of a tree, panting as she forces air back into her lungs. She sits up and screams again when the tree suddenly explodes, the splinters raining down on her as the Moblin pins her by her legs. She tries to teleport again, but the Lynel jumps from where it was and lands on top of the Moblin, crushing it under its hooves.

Luckily it misses crushing Zelda, but the sudden weight makes all her thoughts go to the pain in her legs. The Lynel, panting heavily, casts an imposing shadow over her as it collapses, its face landing mere centimeters from her. It is horribly scarred, with a fresh slash going across both eyes. However, it doesn’t need eyes to notice her. It sniffs her face and she can only manage a yelp when it grabs at her, standing and holding her up by the back of her shirt.

It opens its mouth and, desperate, Zelda closes her eyes and screams, “I can heal you!”

When her head is not eaten, she opens her eyes. The Lynel tilts its head at her, ears flicking. _Did it understand me?_ “T-that’s right, I can heal your eyes,” she gulps. “I-I’m going to put my hand on your face, okay?”

She feels panic rise as she heals it. _What am I doing?! Its going to see me and kill me anyways!_

When the wound is healed, she pulls her hand away quickly and lets the Lynel open its eyes. Its vibrant green, cat-like eyes look into hers with only curiosity. Despite it just trying to eat her moments before, Zelda gives it an uncertain smile. “See? All healed. Now if you could put me dow-”

She is cut off when the Lynel moves her to its side, holding her in front of it. Mouth dry, she heals the large gash on its hide. When that is healed, it passes her to its other hand and holds her to its other side, where several arrows are.

Zelda can feel her hand shaking as the Lynel continues to hold her to its wounds. When all of the worst ones have been healed, it holds her out at an arm’s length, studying her. After a few tense moments, the Lynel pulls her close to its mouth again. “W-wait!” she says as it opens its maw.

Then a scratchy tongue licks her face. Zelda is left stunned and is brought into a tight hug. Spitting strands of mane out of her mouth, she manages to sputter, “Y-you’re welcome?”

The Lynel nuzzles her, then holds her out again. It places her on the ground, but her weakened state and the pain in her body causes her to just fall onto her back. The Lynel tilts its head at her, then lies down beside her. She finds this silly at first, but then the Lynel puts its head on her body and just stares at her.

Tentatively, she raises her hand up and pats its nose. It begins to _purr_ , then licks her entire forearm and hand.

_...What happened to the vicious beast that was about to eat me?_

To her continuing horror, the Lynel falls asleep on top of her. Her legs fall asleep with it as she is pinned to the ground, looking around for a way out of this. All her magic has been spent and she doesn’t have the strength, so she just gives up and stares at the descending night.

_Will Sidon come for me?_

Zelda sighs, then notices a glow. Stiffening, she watches as a crimson moon begins to rise over the horizon.

With only hours before the Blood Moon happens, Zelda begins to wiggle and push at the Lynel’s face. It takes a few attempts, but it eventually opens its eyes and looks at her in a very displeased manner. She gestures to the moon and the Lynel lifts its head to look at it. With a huff, the Lynel flips Zelda onto her face and clamps its teeth on her shirt.

She kicks her feet as she is lifted up like a kitten, the Lynel purring as it walks away.

The Lynel manages to walk her back through the hills, where Sidon is sitting at the waterfall’s edge. He hears the Lynel and turns, pulling a spear off his back when he notices Zelda in its jaws.

“Don’t attack!” Zelda holds her arm out as the Lynel snorts. “Neither of you!”

Sidon stares. “Zelda, what in Hyrule happened up there?”

“I think I made a friend?” she asks, uncertain herself. Sidon and the Lynel stare evenly at each other. “I, uh, healed it.”

“Why?”

“It was either that or get eaten,” she says. The Lynel takes her out of its mouth and holds it close to its chest instead, seemingly trying to keep her safe as it cautiously approaches Sidon.

There is a very tense moment when the two come face-to-face. They are the same eye-level, so Zelda is left looking at their chins. Sidon’s muscles twitch as he prepares to stab it, and the Lynel gives Zelda’s a sniff before sniffing the Zora Prince.

It seems to like what it smells, because it begins to purr and nuzzles Sidon’s chest before licking the top of Zelda’s head.

“ _How_?” he asks for the tenth time as they sit at the Veiled Falls. It is a better place for a large horse-cat beast than the Domain. Said beast holds Zelda close as it licks her back and hair, purring happily as it cleans her of blood. She has tried to crawl away, but her attempts are futile.

“A little help?” she asks, groaning as the tongue passes over her head again. “I don’t need a bath!”

“No offence, but I am not getting near that thing again so soon. He might like me now, but he might change his mind.”

“How do you think-” the Lynel flips her onto her back and licks her front. “How do you think I feel?”

There is a sudden rumble from the Lynel, making it pause in licking her face. She pulls back her head and the Lynel stands, cradling her in its arms as it walks to the water. It places her on its back, giving her a moment to wipe at her face, when there is a splash. It holds up a fish and bites into it, then offers it to Zelda, who blanches. “No, I’m okay.”

The Lynel lies back down, munching on the fish with Zelda still sitting on its back. She slowly turns to Sidon, who again mutters, “ _How_.”

_...Do I have a pet Lynel now?_


	7. Divine Beast Vah Ruta

Zelda stands on the pier of East Reservoir Lake, fiddling with the ropes around her torso nervously. Vah Ruta, a giant mechanical elephant, stands in the center of the water. She had heard its cries constantly over the last several days, but now seeing the Beast so close takes away the confidence she had managed to muster.

Sidon stands beside her, placing a hand on her head. “Do you want to wait a little bit longer?”

“No. I’ve wasted enough time,” she rubs at her tired eyes as her astral arm fills out the sleeve. “We have to do this now. I won’t be scared off again.”

Sidon smiles at her and glances over his shoulder. The Lynel paces at the beginning of the dock, not daring to step near the water. He has been following Zelda ever since she healed him, despite her attempts to send him back home. Sidon knows Zelda doesn’t think highly of her own bravery, but the proof of that courage stands right there. Zelda insists that she had only acted on instinct, that she was more stupid for healing a Lynel than brave.

But Sidon knows that bravery and stupidity are often close cousins.

“Well, then let’s get started,” he dives into the water, looking back at Zelda as she tightens the ropes on her body. They are the only thing keeping the armour in place for her small frame. Once they are secure, she dips into the water and climbs onto Sidon’s back.

With a glance at her, Sidon swims out towards Vah Ruta.

They don’t get far into the lake before the Beast lets out a roar. Panels on the sides its body open up to reveal huge cannons. Giant cubes of ice form from them before firing.

“Hold on,” Sidon says, diving under the water to avoid the projectile. He comes up as it crashes behind them, looking back at Zelda. “You can knock them away with arrows.”

“I have a better idea,” Zelda levitates the Sheikah Slate and picks Cryonis. Holding it in one hand, she destroys the on-coming cube. Sidon laughs, picking up more speed as another crashes into the water.

“Ha! You’re full of surprises. Okay, get ready to climb.” With a boost of speed, Sidon swims to one of the waterfalls on Vah Ruta’s side. He leaps from the water and, just as they practised, Zelda jumps into the water and climbs it. She gains enough speed to soar several meters into the air, pulling out a bow. She fires, barely hitting the orb on the Beast’s back as she falls past it.

Sidon catches her on his back before she hits the water. He gets to a safer distance as the cannons create more ice, this time giant spiked spheres. Instead of aiming in front of them, these ones follow behind them in the water. Zelda turns on Sidon’s back and shatters it, remaining like this as the other spheres fire at them.

Once the attack ends, Sidon charges.

When Zelda breaches the top of the water, she pulls out the paraglider. She hovers a bow by her side and notches an arrow. Cado had warned her not to do this, as the magic would not be so accurate and could damage the bow. However, Zelda is not a good enough archer to shoot while airborne, so she takes the risk. She hits the target squarely in the center this time, storing the paraglider and diving into the water.

Sidon rises underneath her as both kinds of projectiles form. Vah Ruta fires one of each at them and Sidon dives under the water again. They collide with one another, but Sidon lets out a yelp as the cube crashes into one of his legs. “Is it bad?” Zelda asks once they rise. Sidon’s speed is noticeably slower. “I can heal it.”

“Don’t waste your magic,” he says through grit teeth. “I can handle it.”

A cube hurls towards them. Zelda raises her hand, her eyes glowing gold as adrenaline pumps through her. The cube is caught in the aura and Zelda is forced to lie on Sidon’s back from the weight. She lets it drop into the water, where it sinks. A sphere is coming at them from behind and she shatters it just before it its them. They are pelted by shards, one of them cutting across Zelda’s eyebrow.

She ignores the sting as the rest of the projectiles approach. Sidon manages to dodge the cubes while Zelda shatters the spheres, but both of them are tiring.

_I have to finish this soon._

With a great push, Sidon gets her to the waterfall. At the top this time, Zelda pulls out two bows to hit the remaining two targets. One of the arrows hits its mark, but the other misses. She stores the one bow and aims, but then there is a roar. A sudden torrent of water strikes her from behind, sending her flying into the water.

She screams as she skips across the surface like a stone, then sinks. She gasps as she comes up, the shadow of Vah Ruta falling above her. One of its feet crash down beside her, nearly crushing her and forcing her under the surface with the wave. Under the water, the mechanical Beast kicks her. She shoots through the water like an arrow, when arms wrap around her and bring her to the surface.

Sidon gasps as he treads water, holding Zelda tight in one arm. “Anything broken?” he asks, swimming backwards.

Zelda coughs, a sharp pain shooting through her chest and shoulder. Blood trickles from her mouth as she grimaces. “Broken ribs, internal bleeding, dislocated shoulder. I don’t think my lungs are punctured, at least.”

Sidon can’t help but snort. “Do you want to go back and heal?”

“Not when we’ve gotten so far. I can deal with this once I get in Vah Ruta,” she climbs onto his back, wincing harshly. Sacrificing her astral arm, she casts a light healing spell on her ribs and Sidon’s leg, despite his protest. “We need all the speed we can get. This is the last push.”

Sidon nods, diving under another cube successfully. When he rises, a second is already on top of them. Zelda breaks it into shards, but one flies at her face. Sidon brings up his arm to block it and it slices through his fin. She summons her astral arm again, although it is noticeably dull.

The ascent up Vah Ruta is slow and painful. Zelda surrounds herself in her magic to give her a final push.

The final arrow flies, and Vah Ruta lets out a roar as it falls into the water.

Zelda falls next to it, getting caught by Sidon before she hits the water. With Vah Ruta lowered, it allows them to see an opening.

Sidon swims her over, placing her on the entrance. “You fought well, I know you can tame this Beast,” he smiles at her as he backs up. “I will return to the Domain and wait for you there.”

Zelda nods. “Thank you, Sidon.”

“You have the heart of a warrior, Princess. Don’t forget that,” Sidon gives her a bow of his head as Vah Ruta rises, recovering from the attack.

Zelda steps further into the Divine Beast to avoid falling off. In front of her is a Sheikah Terminal, which she hovers the Slate over. The Beast moans as a transportation mark comes to life behind her.

“It is a pleasant surprise to see you again, Princess,” Mipha’s voice echoes around her, making her look up. “I was not expecting anyone to arrive after so long. If you want to tame Vah Ruta, you will need a map. There is a control panel inside, it will give you one.”

Zelda nods, not able to work up the courage to reply. Massaging her stump, she walks into the Beast.

-0-0-0-0-

Zelda rubs her aching ribs, sending another healing spell through them. It has taken her the entire night to activate all the terminals, giving her ample time for her magic to restore. She walks into the main chamber, forming her astral arm. She takes the Sheikah Slate off her belt as she approaches the control panel, happy for this to be over.

But of course it isn’t that easy.

When she places it down, Malice suddenly surrounds the bulb. Having learned her lesson on touching it, she stumbles back as blue light bursts out of the Malice. It begins to form behind her, so she turns to see. The light forms into a tight ball, then a long ancient arm extends from it. When the arm stops forming, a long, bright blue spear snaps out of the end.

The other side forms a clawed hand made of Malice, then the rest of the body uncurls from the light. A broad torso, a thin waste without any legs, a thick neck and two long horns on either side of its small head, where a crimson mane sprouts from.

A bright blue eye similar to a Guardian shines to life, gazing down at Zelda in intense hostility before it throws its head back in an ear-splitting screech.

“Be very careful, Zelda. That is the Waterblight, a monster created by Ganon. It was the one to kill me one hundred years ago.”

Zelda gulps, unsure if she can put up a fight against something like this. Mipha had been a warrior, not her.

 _No time wallow in pity,_ she scolds herself as the Blight twitches.

It brings its spear-arm back, then launches it at Zelda. She stumbles to the side with a gasp, slipping in the water and falling on her backside. She scrambles to her feet as it forms another spear, taking out her bow. The next spear narrowly misses splitting her in half and she takes a step back to aim. The arrow hits the corner of its eye, but it barely flinches.

The spear is swung horizontally, catching Zelda in the side and flinging her into the wall. She slams into the ground and coughs, finding the previously-healed ribs broken again. She scowls to herself, standing and aiming again. As she does, the Sheikah Slate hovers beside her and a spear of her own appears. She fires her arrow and throws the spear in the same moment, each grazing the Blight and making it jerk back.

She pulls her spear back, holding it above her head as it pulls its spear back. It jabs out, but she manages to jump out of its reach. She hurls the spear again, catching the Blight in the chest. While it is distracted by the spear, she is able to catch it in the eye. It recoils back with a shriek, crumbling to the ground.

Zelda stores her weapons and runs to it, flames dancing up to her shoulder. She blasts its face point-blank until she sees it twitch, then teleports to the other side of the room. The Blight stabs its spear, the edge grazing her thigh. She cringes, applying a quick heal to it as the bow hovers in front of her. She grabs it and aims at the water with a shock arrow.

The pulse of lightning rises up the Blight’s waste, making it wither with a screech. It retaliates by throwing its spear, but misses when Zelda teleports out of the way. She takes out a bow the Lynel had given her, placing three arrows on the notches. The Blight turns to her and she fires, catching it in the eye again.

Knowing it will expect the fire again, Zelda hovers out another spear and pierces it into the Blight’s head.

The Blight screeches, teleporting itself away in a ball of light. It moves to the other side of the room, then slashes across the room. Zelda ducks under the swing, but then the clawed hand slashes at her back. She gasps and teleports away, leaning against the wall as she feels blood pool down her back.

She pushes the pain aside, rolling her shoulders and aiming three shock arrows at it. The Blight can’t escape before they strike and it withers. Zelda summons both types of bombs from the Slate and tosses them, detonating them in the Blight’s face.

It is thrown into the wall, slamming down and holding its face. After a few seconds, it stabs the spear into the ground and looks up, the blue of its eye digging into Zelda. It raises its claw, a blue light shining from it. The water level begins to rise, making Zelda gasp as it stings her back. She swims to one of the four platforms that rose, watching the Blight carefully as it hangs upside-down.

The Blight slashes with its spear and Zelda jumps into the water to avoid it. She swims up and uses Cryonis in front of her. The make-shift shield gives her time to get to the other platform and shoot. The Blight blocks the shot with its claw, letting out a low sound akin to a laugh.

Zelda frowns, raising another ice pillar in front of her. She teleports to the platform under the Blight, stabbing her spear upward. She teleports away before it can strike her again.

Zelda and the Waterblight continue to exchange blows, but Zelda can feel herself tiring. The rapid blood loss isn’t helping. She glances at her astral arm, letting it fade to relieve her magic. With a bit of relief to her magic, she teleports above the Blight and sends a stream of fire down on its head.

She falls past it and lands on the edge of the platform, slipping a bit.

The Waterblight recovers and lunges before Zelda can regain her footing. Time seems to slow as the spear aims for her face, intent on piercing it. Eyes wide, she turns her head at the last second, feeling it slash across the right side of her face. She is thrown across the room, slamming into the wall and falling into the water.

Her injuries sting as she surfaces, cringing as she feels blood pour down her face. She grits her teeth, swimming to the closest platform. The Waterblight stands above her, bringing the spear down.

Her instincts teleport her out of the water. She lands on a platform, then the staff of the spear catches her in the stomach. It sends her into the air, where the Blight smacks her back into the platform face-first. She groans and sees its reflection in the water.

Its claw slams down on top of her, keeping her in place as the air is squeezed out of her lungs. She tries to teleport, but she can’t focus with all the pain in her body. Tears sting her eyes as she bites her lip, enraged at herself. After everything she has done, long days, sleepless nights, sore bones and pounding headaches, she still isn’t strong enough.

 _...No,_ she opens her eyes, seeing the spear hovering above the Blight’s head. The faces of those she has met, new and old alike, flash through her mind. At the end of them all are Link and Mipha, the ones she could not save before. _I refuse to be useless again. I can’t fail. I_ won’t _fail._

With a renewed cry, her entire body erupts in flames. The Blight lifts off in surprise with a growl of pain, clenching its burned hand. Zelda stands, the fire crackling as she teleports herself above the Blight.

She slams into its head and falls into the water, the fire extinguished. She swims to a platform, quickly checking to make sure she hasn’t burned the armour, and stands on the edge as the Blight tries to recover. She walks towards it, her magic surrounding the spear it had dropped. Her legs buckle slightly and she bites her tongue, but she works herself over.

She stares into its eye, glaring intensely. She gives the Blight a mock bow, making it growl, and raises her arm above her head. The spear follows, hovering over the Blight’s neck.

She releases her hold and the spear beheads the Waterblight. Its body curls up, imploding in on itself. With a final withered cry, Waterblight Ganon crumbles to dust. Zelda waves her hand in her face tiredly as the water level lowers. She lets out a gasp of pain when she takes a step, falling to one knee and panting.

She raises her gaze to the control panel, grunting in the effort to stand. She stumbles several times getting to it, taking the Slate off her belt. She practically slams it down onto the panel as her knees buckle.

Divine Beast Vah Ruta lets out a triumphant cry.

Zelda leans back onto her knees, panting heavily before sensing a presence. Using the panel to stand, she turns and sees the Zora Champion appear. Like King Rhoam, Mipha is a green-tinted spirit with flames dancing around her. She smiles at Zelda.

“You were wonderful,” she says, walking to stand in front of her.

Zelda suddenly feels self-conscious, looking down at the soot-covered Zora Armour. “I’m sorry for wearing this, I didn’t want to dishonour your love for Link but I couldn’t argue with King Dorephan and Sidon-”

She jumps when Mipha wraps her arms around her. She hadn’t expected her to be so solid, or to smile up at her warmly. “You were always so hard on yourself, even for the smallest mistakes. I am not angry with you, Zelda. I could never be angry, not after what you’ve gone through to free Vah Ruta,” she parts the hug, grasping Zelda’s hand in both of hers.

“You are certain?” Zelda whispers.

“Positive. You are my friend, I would never lie to you,” Mipha’s smile turns sad. “For the last century, I have done nothing but weep. For my family, the kingdom, for you and for Link. I had fallen into despair, losing all hope and believing I would be trapped here for eternity. Seeing you brought that hope back, and now I know we can put an end to this horrid nightmare.”

Zelda smiles, but it quickly turns into a wince when her cheek stings. Mipha squeezes her hand, looking at the roof of the chamber. “You must go now. But, before that I can grant you my power.” She closes her eyes, her entire body beginning to glow bright gold. Zelda feels a refreshing warmth soak through her and she relaxes her shoulders. Mipha looks at her, her smile returning. “You now have the ability to use my power. My Grace. It is a very advanced healing spell, but you will only be able to use it once a day, so be sure with it. With that bit of power, your magic will not drain as quickly.”

“Mipha?” Zelda mutters in shock, finding herself beginning to rise.

The Zora Champion beams. “You will need all the power you can get to face Ganon. I will wait for you, then we will save the Kingdom.”

Zelda’s body turns numb as she is transported out of the Vah Ruta, giving Mipha a final smile.

Zelda is placed on the steps to the Zora throne room. She hears a roar as the rain stops, the mist of clouds parting as the world quakes. She sees water spout from a nearby mountain and watches in delight as Vah Ruta rises from it, overshadowing the valley below and raising its head. A red beam shoots from its mouth, aimed at Hyrule Castle.

When the shaking stops, Zelda’s shoulders slump. Large arms scoop her up into a hug, the Lynel nuzzling into her face. He notices the slashes along her face and back, letting out a sad growl and licking her face. She winces, but doesn’t have the energy to stop him.

“Zelda!” she hears Sidon cry as the Lynel gives her a tight hug. She turns her head, gazing at him woozily.

She passes out in the Lynel’s arms.

-0-0-0-0-

Zelda stares into the mirror, a hand tracing the scar on her face. It begins above her eyebrow, cutting diagonally across her cheek and missing her eye by a centimeter. The cut continues to her ear, where a sizable chunk is taken out of. Mipha’s Grace had once been powerful enough to never leave scars, but after one hundred years the power was weakened.

She lets out a small sigh. While the scars will remain, they no longer hurt and she feels refreshed.

_I wonder if Mipha’s Grace will help during sleepless nights._

Her thoughts are interrupted by a knock. She smiles as Sidon pokes his head in, giving her a large grin.

“Are you ready for the Zora to love you?”

“I doubt they love me,” she laughs softly, leaving the room with him.

“Nonsense, you saved us, of course they love you!” he pulls her into a one-armed hug, lifting her off the ground. “I even heard the old Keese are impressed with you. Just you wait, you’ll learn how well Zora celebrate.”

While he had given her a warning, Zelda is still shocked by the amount of Zoras who stand to the sidelines. They cheer and clap as she passes, reaching the stairs to the throne room. She nervously rubs her aching stump, then feels a hand rest on her head. She looks up to Sidon, who flashes her a wide grin.

She gives a small smile back, rolling her shoulders and entering the throne room. King Dorephan smiles brightly as she enters. “Zelda, I cannot express my gratitude enough. You’ve saved the Domain and Hyrule from a terrible fate, and worked so hard to do so. I always believed you had the heart of a warrior, yet I could never see it. Now I know it to be true. Princess Zelda, we are in your debt.”

“No, this was my debt to you. I had to fix my mistakes,” Zelda bows deeply. “And it wouldn’t have been possible without Sidon.”

“Don’t brush off your achievements so easily,” Sidon chuckles gently, ruffling her hair and making her frown at him. “All I did was swim very fast. _You_ freed Vah Ruta all on your own.”

“In honour of your victory, we have decided to let you keep the Zora Armour,” King Dorephan says.

“I can’t,” Zelda shakes her head. “I’ve already worn it for too long. I am thankful for your trust, but I don’t want to wear it any longer. I’ve already found a spell that will work just as well, even if it is a bit more advanced.”

“Always the scholar,” King Dorephan chuckles, making Zelda flush a bit. “We had a feeling you would decline, but we will not have you leave without a reward.”

To her surprise, Muzu approaches her. He even gives her a small smile. “On behalf of the elders, I want to apologize for our treatment of you. I realize we were fools in acting like you wanted any of this. I know you will not forgive us so easily, but take this,” he hands her a large bag.

It is filled to the brim with Rupees, making her balk.

“If you are going to save the rest of Hyrule, you will need them to rest at Stables,” Muzu says.

“Thank you, Muzu,” Zelda smiles.

Then she lets out a squeak when Sidon picks her up, holding her out in front of the gathered Zora. Her face turns scarlet as their cheers grow louder, nearly drowning out the waterfalls.

In the distance, Divine Beast Vah Ruta cries.


	8. Advancements

_**Zelda and the Champions were standing in the ceremonial grounds south of Hyrule Castle. Zelda and Link** _ _**were** _ _**in the center, the Knight kneeling before the Princess.** _

_**Tensely, Zelda began to recite the speech she had practised for so long.** _

“ _ **Hero of Hyrule, chosen by the sword that seals the darkness...You have shown unflinching bravery and skill in the face of darkness and adversity. And have proven yourself worthy of the blessings of the Goddess Hylia. Whether skyward bound, adrift in time, or steeped in the glowing embers of twilight, the sacred blade is forever bound to the soul of the Hero. We pray for your protection...and we hope that-” Zelda stumbled over her words, “-that the two of you will grow stronger together as one,” she finished, lowering her hand.**_

_**Taking in a deep sigh, Zelda reluctantly raised her hand again to continue her speech.** _

“ _ **Gee, this is uplifting,” Daruk rubbed the back of his head. “She makes it sound like we already lost.”**_

“ _ **Wasn’t this your idea?” Revali scoffed. “You’re the one who wanted to designate the appointed knight with all the ceremonial pomp, grandeur and nonsense we could muster!” Revali looked to Zelda and Link. “And if you ask me, the whole thing seems to be overkill. I think I’m on the same page with the princess regarding...this boy.”**_

_**Mipha gave Revali a stink eye.** _

_**Urbosa rolled her eyes. “Oh, give it a rest. That boy is a living reminder of her own failures. Well, at least that’s how the princess sees him.”** _

_**As Zelda completed her speech properly this time, she simply stared at Link in contempt. He kept his eyes down and closed, unaware of the looks and whispers he received.** _

-0-0-0-0-

The pair of treasure hunters duck behind the crumbled wall of a house. One of them holds a cloth around his bleeding leg. “The damned things are gettin’ smarter,” he grunts.

“‘We’ll pay yer worth in gold if ye find this treasure,’ they said,” his friend scoffs, spitting into the dirt. “This ain’t worth shit. They told us th’ Guardian here was destroyed.”

“They lied.”

“Ye don’t say?” he rolls his eyes, looking around the rubble to see the Guardian lock onto him. He ducks back behind cover as a laser flies by and destroys an opposite pile of rubble. “If we survive this, no more huntin’ fer treasure.”

“You say that every time.”

The two stop talking as they hear the Guardian approach. They press their backs into the wall in a feeble attempt to stay hidden, but have already sent their prayers to the Gods.

Then the Guardian takes pause. They hear it begin to charge a shot, then fire in the other direction. Shortly after, there is an explosion followed by an enraged roar. The Guardian fires a second shot, but moments later it ricochets back and hits it, causing it to rock. The treasure hunters jerk when its leg moves, but it simply vanishes over the wall.

The uninjured hunter quickly scrambles to his feet, keeping in a crouch as he peaks over the top of the wall. To his immense surprise, the Guardian’s new target is a huge Lynel.

The beast is a shadow against the dark night, but its face illuminates as fire rises from its throat. It continues to charge the Guardian, blasting it in the side. The Guardian scurries towards it like a spider, towering over the Lynel. It shows no fear, only rage as it brings out a bow and circles around it. The Guardian follows it, a red beam settled on the Lynel’s face, when the Lynel releases its arrow.

It strikes the Guardian’s eye with a great electrical discharge. With it distracted, the Lynel puts its bow away and closes the distance, taking the giant axes off of its back to hack at the Guardian’s legs. All the while, it continues to blast it in the head with fire.

The hunter watches in fascination, having never seen a creature fight a Guardian before. They have all run away in the past, even the stupid Bokoblins knew better than to challenge them. What in Hyrule could prompt a Lynel to fight?

The Lynel pulls off each of the Guardian’s legs, then proceeds to leap high and land on top of it, grabbing under its head. The Lynel pulls upward, slowly tearing the head off as wires and sparks fly. With a final angry yowl, it rips it off and throws it into the distance.

With the Guardian destroyed, the Lynel climbs off of it. It shakes itself off, then walks to a nearby tree. It stands on its hind hooves, balancing on the trunk with its front as it sticks its head into the tree, then pulling back. It carries something in its mouth, something alive, but he can’t tell what it is from this far away.

The Lynel then looks in their direction, the glowing yellow eyes locking with his. With a quiet gasp, he sits down beside his companion and presses his back into the wall. “I think it saw me.”

“What is it?”

“A Lynel.”

“A _what_?!”

“Are you two alright?”

They jump at the voice. A young girl stands to the side of their cover, dressed in Sheikah clothing. The Lynel stands behind her, staring at the two men cautiously.

“M-my leg’s hurt.”

“I can help,” she says, crouching next to him and pulling out a bottle. The Lynel’s chest rumbles as she does this and she just rolls her eyes. “Oh honestly, not everyone we come across is out to kill us.”

The men exchange looks as the Lynel actually listens, becoming less tense and lying down. It still watches protectively, but it doesn’t move.

“Sorry about him,” she says, pouring some of the potion onto some bandages. “He doesn’t trust people. Could you remove the cloth?”

He does as told and she quickly presses the potion-soaked bandage onto his leg. He winces as it stings at first, but after a few seconds it begins to feel soothing. She wraps the bandage and leans back, giving him a small smile. “Is that better?”

“Much. Thank you, stranger,” he pushes himself to sit up better. She hands him the rest of the potion and he swallows it in a single gulp. “What’s a kid like you doin’ out here?”

“I’d forgotten something here. What about you two?”

“Huntin’ fer treasure,” the uninjured man leans on the wall. “There’s a lot ‘round here and inside the old city. Dangerous work, but normally fine fer us. We know how t’ handle them Guardians. But that ain’t the case today. The person who hired us will ‘ave a lot to answer to.”

“What’s wrong with the Guardians?”

“Aside from existin’? They’ve been smarter lately, and more aggressive. They haven’t just been wandering aimlessly around the field, they’ve been searchin’ for somethin’.”

“Searching?”

“Aye. One even came near the Stable a couple weeks ago. Gave the people inside a scare, but then it just left them alone. They’ve said that its eye was more piercin’ than normal.”

“I felt th’ same when I was peakin’ ‘round. I say we lay low fer a bit. S’not like we wasted any money on this job.”

“Just nearly our lives,” the injured man rolls his eyes.

“Will you be able to walk?”

“Aye, with his help.”

“Good. The path is clear to the Stable, so you won’t run into anymore Guardians.”

“Ye dealt with ‘em?”

“Not me, Obsidian.” The Lynel purrs at the mention, making the men stare. “He’s learned to hate them.”

“Like us all,” the injured man lets out a low laugh as his friend lifts him up. “Well, thanks again, stranger. Are you going to the Stable as well?”

“No, I have other matters to attend to,” she says. “Stay safe.”

Once the two men are out of sight, Obsidian’s purr grows louder as he nudges Zelda’s back. “They’re searching for me, aren't they? Fantastic,” she mutters, rubbing Obsidian's nose. He licks her hand, then picks her up and places her on his back.

Zelda hadn’t had a choice in taking Obsidian with her, but she doesn’t regret it in the slightest. Warping to Hateno might have been faster, but it would put the Zora in danger of a confused Lynel. He had already damaged a section of stairs after watching Zelda fight Vah Ruta, the Gods only knew what would happen should she up and vanish on him.

Even if she had the choice she wouldn’t have left without him. She has grown fond of the giant beast during her time at the Domain. Not only that, but she is happy to have company on the road. It was a lonely few weeks travelling on her own with nothing to distract her from her thoughts, except for the occasional monster that tried to kill her.

Now she has a companion who knows how to fight, which has already saved her from an attempted assassination. She was setting up camp when the Yiga came, and they were caught in Obsidian’s large claws before they could land a hit on her. After making the Yiga shit themselves by roaring in their face, Obsidian chomped down on their skull, cracking it in two in a single bite.

Zelda tried not to think about how easily that could have been her as the Lynel took the body away to consume.

Despite his terrifying and brutal fighting tactics, Obsidian is nothing but loyal and gentle to her. He is always careful with his claws and watchful of where he walks if she is on the ground, he will instantly be there to cover her from an unseen danger and will even help set up a camping area at night.

Now if only she can get him to stop bathing her.

Zelda laughs quietly to herself, pulling out her spell book and leaning back into Obsidian’s mane. The Lynel purrs lightly, following the road at a distance as to not startle any other travellers. He had already given the Stable a massive scare when he arrived to proudly present Zelda with a deer he had caught.

She cannot return to that Stable ever again.

“I’m close to getting the spell to last,” Zelda says, flipping to the gills spell she had found. She finds talking to Obsidian about her spells has helped her understanding of them, even if he doesn’t know what she is talking about most of the time. “The problem right now is that I need to actively keep it up, otherwise it will fall. While I can use other spells at the same time, they are weakened when my concentration is split. Even if I can get it to last for a few minutes that will be good for now.”

Obsidian lets out a low, neutral growl.

“After this I can work on Mipha’s Grace. Its power may have lessened, but I’m sure I can build it back up to be close to what it used to be. I’ll never match her skill, though.”

He tilts his head with a confused rumble. “Because she _invented_ the spell. She discovered how to use it as a child and had many years to perfect it. I won’t nearly have enough time to do so, but even if I can heal a wound completely that will be enough. It won’t matter if it leaves scars behind,” she traces her cheek.

For his part, Obsidian stands taller. He is very proud of the scars that cover his hide, the evidence to his many victories in battle.

Her mind goes back to the mountain peak, to the moment he was about to eat her head. She has avoided bringing it up, but her curiosity has grown. “Obsidian, were you going to eat me when we first met?”

To her surprise, he plucks her off his back and holds her in front of his face, a look of almost horror in his eyes. He shakes his head furiously, letting out a low rumble. Zelda blinks. “You weren’t? Then why were you bringing me to your face?”

In hindsight, Zelda should have seen the lick coming. “Really? You had just finished killing dozens of other monsters and your first instinct upon sniffing me was to lick me?”

He responds with another lick before pulling her into a hug. “You had made it seem like you were about to bite my head off.”

He lets out a guilty rumble, giving her a final nuzzle before putting her on his back again. Zelda wipes her face on her sleeve, smiling in relief. It still begs the question as to _why_ he likes her so much, but she supposes her panicked mind had misread the situation. It is hard to think straight when a giant beast is bringing you to its mouth.

 _Perhaps healing him only made him like me more,_ she muses, storing her book and sitting up straight to meditate. They continue on in silence, the Lynel ever alert of any danger.

-0-0-0-0-

“I know, but you must stay here,” Zelda says gently, running her hand over Obsidian's face. They stand in the forest outside of Hateno, where no villager can spot him but she won’t seem suspicious coming out of. “If they see you, they might attack you and I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I will be back in a day or two, I promise.”

Obsidian lets out a low, pitiful _mrowl_ as he nudges Zelda over, pinning her to the ground with his head resting on her legs and stomach. She props herself up on her elbow, frowning at him. “Now none of that. This isn’t up for debate, the villagers cannot see you. The Zora tolerated you because Sidon trusted you, we don’t have that here. It’s my word against an entire village.”

His ears flicker and he lots out a puff of air, ruffling her hair as he lifts his head off. He crosses his arms on the ground and pouts into them, his eyes following her as she stands and brushes herself off. She rolls her eyes and gives him a final pat on the head before walking out of the trees.

It is early in the morning, so the only people awake are the guards. They let her in without any fuss, but they continue to stare at her in suspicion. She ignores it and makes her way to the lab, enjoying the sun compared to the days of rain.

She knocks on the door, smiling at Symin when he opens it. His curious expression quickly turns to a smile when he sees her. “Hello, Zelda! Glad the letter reached you just fine.”

“Sorry I could not reply. The Zora don’t exactly have paper and I didn’t stop at the Stables on my way here,” she steps inside, looking around at the new diagrams and schematics pinned to the walls. “I see Purah’s been busy.”

“She hasn’t been so motivated in her research in a long time. Even her little mishap was only because she was bored. You’ve opened up a lot of opportunists for her to advance in ancient technology,” he chuckles. “Robbie is likewise very ecstatic. He wants you to visit him after you’ve grown used to the prosthetic. He sent the schematic for it with a plethora of supplies once he heard the news.”

“I’ll remember to do that,” she nods with a smile.

“Oh, hello Zelda!” She turns to Alice, who stands at the door to a side room. She holds a cane under one arm and favours a leg, but just seeing her standing makes Zelda beam. “You were right about these two, they’re amazing.”

“How do you feel?” Zelda asks, walking over.

“Not quite used to it yet, but it works wonders already,” Alice limps to a stool, placing her cane down and lifting her skirt above the knee. The prosthetic leg is straight and solid, a cup of sorts fitted around her knee and secured in place on her thigh. At the ankle is a ball and hinge, allowing the solid, flat foot to shift with Alice’s movements. “Purah says I should be able to go without my cane in a week or two. I can’t thank you enough,” Alice stands and pulls Zelda into a tight hug. “You already saved my life, and now you’ve given me a chance to walk again.”

Zelda feels her face grow warm, but it only gets worse when she notices Purah from over Alice’s shoulder. The Sheikah scientist gives her a big, knowing grin.Alice then pulls out of the hug, either ignoring or oblivious to Zelda’s blush. “Now I think it’s your turn. I know you’ll love what Purah’s made for you,” Alice winks at Zelda, clapping her on the shoulder and picking up her cane.

After getting her blushing under control, Zelda follows Purah to the tower outside. “I wish I didn’t act like such a child.”

“You had little interaction with other people, but knew how to talk to them. You were always kind, calm and polite. However, that always flew out the window when you spotted a pretty girl,” Purah giggles, causing Zelda to blush again.

“I feel like it would be a mercy to be oblivious instead,” she mutters, but her mind is taken off the subject when she walks into the tower’s room.

A few minutes later, Zelda lays down on a cot, hardly able to contain her excitement as Purah prepares a sleeping potion. “You will be unconscious for a while, so you might feel woozy when you wake up. Are you ready?”

Zelda nods, taking the bottle and taking a drink from it. She begins to count to ten, but she doesn’t even get to three before her eyes close.

-0-0-0-0-

Zelda grins from ear-to-ear as she examines her new arm.

Because it will be put through combat, the arm has had more thought and care put into it. It is slender, but very dense and durable. Despite this, it is still light-weight and shouldn’t cause much discomfort. The prosthetic is made up of two parts. The first part is a thick-plated shoulder pad that has been surgically implanted into Zelda’s chest and back. This will keep the pad in place during her fights, and even if it still aches it is a small price to pay. With the plate secure, there is a rounded socket placed around her stump, which Purah calls a ‘port’.

Then comes the actual arm. It has a rounded top that fits into the port and locks into place. The arm has hinges at the elbow, wrist and digits, making it so that they can move when Zelda swings that side of her body. This way it appears like an actual arm when she travels, so with a disguise she should be able to hide it.

But the movable digits give Zelda a very good idea. With her telekinesis, she can move the arm and even feel with it, to some extent. She smiles as she clenches her fists, looking at Purah brightly. “Thank you so much, Purah.”

“I should be thanking you,” she says, already sketching an idea for a new prosthetic. “Just be aware that this _is_ a prototype, it might have a few kinks that we are not aware of. Although having them move like that is the next step. Robbie will have fun with that.”

“You mean to have them move on their own? How?”

“I’m not sure yet. I am thinking gathering topaz might be a good start, they have a lightning charge that could make an arc through the limbs. The only problem is attaching them to the nerves.”

“Maybe we could make a kind of wire or headband?”

“Hmm, good start. But it can wait for now. Oh, I know, I should give you a notebook of your own,” Purah hops off her stool and grabs a large, blank book. “That way you can help in the future.”

“Thank you.”

They are interrupted by loud and frantic banging on the door. “Purah we have a problem!”

“Can’t it wait, Symin?”

“There’s a Lynel outside!”

“Oh, Gods,” Zelda sighs, running past Symin to get outside. She rounds the corner of the house to see Kane aiming an arrow at Obsidian, who is growling lowly. “For Nayru’s Love, Obsidian,” Zelda walks up to the Lynel and puts a hand on her hip. “I told you to stay outside the village.”

Obsidian purrs and nods in response, pointing to the village below, then at Purah’s lab with a shake of the head. Zelda frowns deeply at him. “You knew _exactly_ what I meant. You are not supposed to go anywhere near people’s homes,” she finds herself crossing her arms and this catches his attention. He lets out a curious _mrow_ and nudges her prosthetic.

“Zelda?” Remembering who is here with her, Zelda looks back with a sheepish expression. “Um, everyone, meet Obsidian.”

“Well that explains why you didn’t just warp,” Purah says after Zelda explains what happened. Kane and Alice are giving her looks of awe.

“You are awesome,” Kane whistles lowly.

“And you’re _sure_ he won’t hurt you?” Symin asks.

Obsidian, offended, growls and hugs Zelda tightly into his mane. She brushes strands of hair away and nods. “If he wanted to, he would have already. The only time I got hurt was when I got stuck in that fight.” Feeling guilty, he licks the top of her hair.

“Why would he be in a fight, anyway? Most monsters avoid Lynels,” Alice wonders.

“Probably territory,” Purah says without looking up from her notebook. Obsidian nods, but Zelda feels like there is more to it. She decides to not say anything and let Obsidian continue to lick her. She’s found it is easier to let him finish than to get him to stop.

Later that night, Zelda lies against Obsidian’s side as she star gazes. With her gills spell nearly perfect, she finds it is time to relax. Her new arm sits next to her side, since Purah suggested against wearing it to bed, as she pulls out a book on stars. She begins to point out constellations to the Lynel, who listens with rapt attention.

“Each constellation represents a God or Deity,” she tells him. “But what baffles astronomers is that part of the night sky,” the points to a spot where there isn’t a single star. “Many believe that it is where the Goddess Hylia once stood, although that is up for debate. A few people think she is represented by the Champion’s Belt, but others say that the Belt is a gift from the Gods to represent the Heroes of Legend.

I feel so intrigued by Hylia. She is perhaps the most widely regarded God to ever exist, yet we know so little about her. Nearly all the other Gods have come to Hyrule in a mortal form, yet they left their image in the sky while doing so. They were still bound to the Sacred Realm, even if they were no longer in it. But any traces of Hylia are lost. Like she never even existed.

And yet, she does still exist. There is proof to that in the statues of her image, even in the Ancient Sheikah who guard the Shrines. I wonder why she remains silent.”

Zelda brings her hand up, staring at the Triforce. The mark has become bolder through her trials.

“I wonder if she regrets granting me these sealing powers. She must be so disappointing in a failure like me.”

Obsidian, growing tired, noses Zelda’s cheek with a soft purr. She laughs lightly, scratching under his chin. “You’re right, we should sleep. Thinking about it won’t help.”

Leaning further back against him, Zelda finds herself staring at the dark spot in the sky as she drifts to sleep.


	9. Akin to Home

“Oh, you _must_ be kidding,” Zelda mutters, standing on Obsidian's back and holding his horns. They have been travelling to Gerudo Desert for the last two days and just arrived at a long suspension bridge on the west side of the Great Plateau. The only problem is the giant, blue-skinned Hinox that sleeps on the rock pillar that connects both bridges.

Irritating Zelda more is the beeping from a nearby Shrine, one she notices when she glances down at the water below.

She had gotten a book from Impa that entails the information on the various monsters in the kingdom. Hinox are among the most dangerous, even above Lynels for their sheer size alone. If they weren’t such lazy creatures, they could easily demolish Hyrule on their own.

“We won’t be fighting that,” she advises Obsidian, who she notices is tense and ready for battle. He lets out a disappointed rumble. “Not only is it a Hinox, it’s _blue._ It’s hide is thicker than an average red one _and_ it has a bit more intelligence to use armour, even if it is crude. Now, I need to go get that Shrine below us before I destroy the Sheikah Slate. You stay here and _don’t. Engage. The Hinox_ ,” she stresses, sliding off Obsidian’s back and walking to the side of the bridge.

He huffs, lying down and watching her.

She descends with the Paraglider, turning herself around to land next to the Shrine.

The moment she is out of sight, Obsidian stands and unsheathes his battle axes. With a sinister, almost gleeful grin, he trots towards the Hinox.

Zelda lowers into a familiar chamber, like the one she used for training back in Kakariko. Summoning fire in her palm, she walks towards the center as a platform rises, a Guardian Scout brandishing a spear at her. It immediately stabs at her, but she teleports behind it and smacks it.

Its head whirls around, charging a beam, but she has already teleported in front of it again. Without turning its head, it stabs at her and nicks her arm. Luckily, it only hits her prosthetic. She raises it and punches into the Scout’s eye when it turns to her.

After the punch, the Scout leaps backwards and sinks in on itself. Zelda teleports next to it, but is knocked back by a laser as the Scout spins. The laser stings, shoving her backwards until she is out of range. With a frown, she stands back up and waits for it to stop.

When it does, it quickly scuttles towards her, firing weak shots at her point-blank. They sting her face and neck when they hit, but she shakes it off and rushes forward, fire coating her calf as she kicks upwards. She hits the side of its body and jumps back before it can stab her. The Scout is beginning to spark and jerk.

It leaps back again, tucking into itself, but is taking a longer time to charge as it slowly rises. Hearing the familiar sound of a Guardian Stalker beam, she blanches and ducks behind one of the stone pillars. It shatters when struck, the chunks falling on her head and shoulders. She scowls to herself, running behind the next pillar and peaking around.

The moment the laser fires, she teleports above it, a dagger in hand. She lands on its head, stabbing into its eye repeatedly until it crumbles to the ground. She brushes soot off her face and smiles, scavenging any undamaged parts.

She walks through the gate and opens a chest, her eyes widening in wonder. A hand-sized ball sits in it, an orange glow coming up from between the ancient martial wrapped around it. When she picks it up, she can feel a warmth emanate from it. When she puts it in her Sheikah Slate, she can’t help the excited squeal at its description.

 _This is a power source for the Guardians!_ _If we gather enough of these, we can have animated limbs! Purah will be ecstatic!_

She can’t remember the researcher mentioning these. They must be very rare.

Shaking her head, she walks up and bows to the Ancient Sheikah.

Along her travels, Zelda has made sure to visit all the Shrines she has come across. Most consist of puzzles or situations that needed solving, all varying in difficulty. They weren’t too difficult for her, but getting to some of them had been...a challenge.

She rubs her cheek, where a bruise has long-since healed from when she accidentally crushed a woman’s flowerbed. It hadn’t exactly been Zelda’s intention, but it was hard to avoid stepping on the flowers when a giant Chu Chu Jelly tried to eat her.

But all of these Shrines have made her stronger, as Impa and Purah had told her they would. Every time she gets four Spirit Orbs, she finds her magic growing stronger, can last longer and she can start training in more advanced spells. With each of these power increases, the Triforce on her hand has become bolder. So bold, in fact, that she has to wear bandages _and_ a gauntlet to make sure nobody notices it glow.

While reminiscing about some of the Shrines, Zelda steps out of the current one only to see a giant shape fall into the water. A wave washes over her, smacking her back into the Shrine entrance before it dies down. Glowering and soaked, Zelda walks out and sees the Hinox’s body floating in the water.

After a few teleports, she arrives at the top and crosses her arms, tapping her foot at Obsidian, who lies on his back acting innocent. “What did I tell you?”

He lets out a low purr, tilting his head. Zelda continues to stare down at him. After a few moments, he flips onto his stomach and nuzzles her face, causing his mane to stick. Unable to hold back a laugh, Zelda pushes his muzzle away. “Don’t be so reckless. You could have gotten killed,” she climbs onto his back.

Three weeks have passed since Zelda visited Purah. She has begun to get used to her prosthetic, but oftentimes finds herself off-balance from the new weight it adds. By the time she takes it off to sleep, it usually aches as well. But the benefits, and that of future prototypes, far outweigh any cons in her mind.

After she returned to Kakariko, Impa began to teach her the basics of hand-to-hand combat. Dorian was the best at it in the village, but no one could find him, so the task landed on Cado. He was still good, of course, but even he admitted that he could not teach Zelda much more than the basics.

‘An old wound,’ he had told her with a chuckle.

So Impa suggested she go speak to the Gerudo, who are masters of all kinds of close-combat. This was perfect, because Zelda had already decided to go to the desert. Seeing Lady Urbosa in her recent memory had stirred Zelda to know more about her.

‘Do be careful, Zelda. It is believed that the Yiga Clan have their hideout in the desert. You should be safe within Gerudo Town’s walls, but nothing is certain,’ Impa told her before she left.

After entering the canyon and completing yet another Shrine, she finds herself becoming more relaxed as they travel. The cool wind from central Hyrule has given way to a warmer, almost dead breeze and the sun is hot in the early morning, her clothes already dried. She tilts her head back with a smile, a familiar feeling of happiness rising in her. A feeling as if she is returning home.

 _Strange,_ she thinks, her mind drifting to when she had seen Hyrule Castle at the Ceremonial Grounds. _I hadn’t felt like this when looking at it then. Perhaps it’s because of the Calamity._

It is noon when she hears the beeping again. They round a corner and her eyes widen when she sees an old, decrepit stable sitting in the canyon’s shadow. The supports have caved in, the roof sags, the walls are burnt and broken, and the tower has fallen across the road, split in two.

“Right, no sane person would want to live near a place rumoured to have assassins,” she muses aloud, slipping off Obsidian’s back to walk to the nearby Shrine.

After getting several lightning burns, Zelda begins to walk out of the canyon when she hears Obsidian stop behind her. She turns, seeing him pawing at the stone and staring at the sand in discontent. She sighs, going back and rubbing his leg. “Uneven sand and hot weather are a big ‘no’ for you, aren’t they?” He already feels like he is overheating. “Alright then. You can stay here.”

He picks her up when she tries to walk away, pinning her to his chest. “I understand you’re afraid, but I must speak with them. If I get in trouble, I will send up a flare.” She has been practising with her fire in case they get separated. “I will be safe with the Gerudo.”

The loyal beast gives a sad, reluctant nod, licking the back of her head and setting her down gently. She scratches his ear, smiling as he purrs.

The sense of being home becomes stronger the moment she steps onto the sand. Feeling the grains under her boots makes her smile and she walks across them effortlessly, even as the dunes shift and slide. With no mountains in the distance, she gets a true sense of freedom. The rest of the kingdom almost feels like a cage, but there is no end in sight for the desert.

She wonders if it is possible to cross it entirely, or if the elements would prevent so.

Her attention is quickly drawn to the south, however, when she spots a long neck protruding from a storm of sand. Divine Beast Vah Naboris stands tall and proud, heavy footsteps shaking the earth even from this distance.

_I can admire the desert once that is dealt with._

About ten minutes later, she comes across an oasis. It, like the stable, had once been a settlement, but ragged, half-buried tents are all that is left behind. She sits next to the water, taking in a few mouthfuls as to not waste her canteens. When she lifts her gaze, she gets a familiar headache. She takes out the Sheikah Slate, and soon sees her own ghost.

_**Zelda took several deep breaths as she walked towards Kara Kara Bazaar. Today she would finally put her bitterness aside and apologize to Link. She knew it couldn’t be so easy, he probably would not forgive her, but she had to at least try.** _

_**Before she could look for him, she spotted a figure dressed in red and black across the water. Terror rising in her throat, she turned and sprinted in the opposite direction, back towards Gerudo Town.** _

_**The Yiga let out a low, amused cackle as they teleported across the water, ducking low to the sand to give chase.** _

_**Zelda didn’t dare look back, but she was forced to come to a stop when two more assassins appeared before her. She stumbled to a stop, slipping and landing on her backside. All she heard was her own heart in her ears as she pushed herself back, as if it would help.** _

_**The Yiga behind her raised their scythe, the weapon glinting in the sun, and she raised her arms over her head.** _

_**The sound of metal cutting through flesh filled the air.** _

_**Zelda flinched, but felt nothing. Slowly, she lowered her arms to see Link standing in front of her, blood dripping off the Master Sword. The Yiga’s headless body lay motionless behind her as the knight stood between her and the enemy, his stance solid and his eyes filled with rage.** _

_**Zelda could only stare, feeling any remaining contempt vanish.** _

Zelda stands where she once lay, a smile on her face despite herself. The terror still pierces her, her heart pounding and her breathing shallow, but it slowly fades into relief. The past bitterness has been so vile, so now being rid of it is wonderful. Looking at the photos, she is aware that there is one more set before this moment, but there are any more left after it as well.

So she hopes that the last memory before their friendship won’t be so awful once she finds it.

With heightened spirits, Zelda puts the Slate away and walks with her head held high, her grin broadening when she sees the distant walls of Gerudo Town. There is a large structure towering over the walls, which she assumes is the palace. The closer she gets, the faster she picks up her pace. She only slows when she spots the guards at either side of the entrance, each holding a spear as long as they are tall.

There is also a Shrine to the right, but she can go through it later.

“Sav’aaq,” Zelda greets without thinking, wondering where the word came from. She understands it, a simple ‘hello,’ but she doesn’t know why she said it. She hasn’t said it to anyone else. The guards quirk their eyebrows at her and she gives them a small, awkward smile.

“Leave at once, outsider,” the one on her left practically spits as the two cross their spears, preventing her from entering.

“I thought vai were allowed in.”

“It matters not if you are vai or voe, humans are not permitted within the city limits. Now leave.”

“But it’s urgent. I need to speak with your chief-” Zelda freezes when she feels the spearhead nudge against her throat. Both guards tower over her with dark expressions.

“ _Leave,”_ they both whisper.

Not needing any further prompting, Zelda turns and sprints away, heart pounding in her ears. _Why would they turn me away? Impa said nothing of this._ _What could have changed?_ She gets to the oasis, crouching by the water’s edge to take a drink. She traces her neck, still feeling the ghost of the spear. _Why would they specify humans?_

Her gaze lifts to the other side of the water, where an assassin had once stood. Zelda pinches the bridge of her nose with a groan. _I’m so stupid. The Yiga must have snuck in pretending to be a Hylian._ _It’s more than likely they killed many people._ _No wonder they were so hostile, especially after I mentioned speaking to the chief. Still, it doesn’t help my current situation. I do need to talk to their chief, to get her trust. How can I do that?_

With a heavy sigh, Zelda walks back to the ruined stable to talk to Obsidian. The Lynel is sleeping in the shade of the debris, a bone sticking out of his jaw. He opens his eyes at her footsteps and begins to purr. “Sleep well?” she asks, scratching his nose. He closes his eyes blissfully. “We’ve got a problem now. The Yiga Clan hurt the Gerudo in some way, and now they won’t let me enter the city. Any ideas on how I can gain their trust?”

He ignores her in favour of the scratches, and Zelda shakes her head fondly. She settles down by his side and pulls out her spell book, beginning to skim the pages to find something useful. She can’t turn back and go to one of the other Divine Beasts now, they are both far to the north and would take weeks to travel to.

She almost begins to skim mindlessly, when something catches her eye. She flips back several pages and finds a camouflage spell. It is highly advanced, but only a few chapters more than her gills spell. If she leaves the gills alone for a bit and puts all her focus into the camouflage, perhaps she can learn it and sneak into the city.

It will be a dangerous gamble. Camouflage isn’t true invisibility, she can still be spotted if she moves or if someone is particularly keen in their senses. Which all Gerudo are, but she has little choice in the matter. It will be her best bet, because invisibility is far too difficult for her now.

“If I combine the camouflage with the Sheikah clothing, I should be nearly soundless,” she says aloud. She lifts her right hand and peels the glove back, peering at the bandages hiding the Triforce. She clenches her fist, a fire in her eyes, and casts Mipha’s Grace to rid herself of any weariness.

-0-0-0-0-

Zelda stares down at her hands, frowning deeply. It has only taken a week to learn the spell, but it doesn’t work on her prosthetic. Her skin and clothes blend into the rocks, but the ancient material isn’t made from anything organic. With a frustrated sigh, she lets the spell fall and runs a hand through her hair, looking over at Obsidian.

“Keep this safe until I get back,” she tells him, unhooking her arm and giving it to him. He nods obediently, gently placing the arm at his side and purring when Zelda scratches him under the chin.

She waits until night before heading out, wanting to use every advantage she can get. She goes wide when she spots the walls, then continues along the west side until she comes around to the back. A pair of soldiers patrol the wall and she waits until they round the corners.

Teleporting onto the top, Zelda analyzes the city of sandstone. It is large, crafted into a maze of dead-end allies and guards around every corner. This place was made to deter and confuse thieves, and by the time they figured out they were lost the Gerudo would be upon them.

The palace of the city sits in the middle, surrounded by guard barracks and training grounds. Even now there are Gerudo practising drills. Witnessing their speed and power puts Zelda in awe, and a bit of fear. She wonders what could prompt the Yiga to make an enemy of the Gerudo.

Before she can go further, her ears pick up sobbing. She quietly crosses the roof, climbing down onto a box, then a balcony and peering through the window. Two Gerudo sit on a couch in a tight embrace, the one facing her has her face buried in the other’s neck. “W-what have w-we done?” she lets out a choked sob. “W-what can we d-do?”

“Nothing,” the other sounds hollow. “There’s nothing that can be done. We did our best, but they outnumber us five to one. It’s lucky any of us made it out.”

“What a-about Barta? Because of us, she’ll die all alone.”

“There isn’t anything we can do. We’d only add to the tragedy.”

“All because of us.”

“No. It is all because of the Yiga, and those bastards alone.”

Zelda ducks below the windowsill, sliding to a sit and leaning her head back against the wall. Her entire body is shaking in rage, small flames dancing on her fingertips. She brings her hand up, trying to take deep breaths and stay under control. When it doesn’t go out on its own, she clenches her fist, distinguishing them.

She is still shaking when she stands, but hopefully she won’t be noticed.

She uses the box to get back up and fast-walks across the roof, stepping over a raised portion onto the next house. She continues along until she gets a clear view of a balcony on the palace’s side, however it is right above the training ground.

Even at night they practice drills. Their speed makes their weapons mere blurs and their power is enough to crack boulders and decapitate training dummies. Zelda can’t help but pale when one of the dummies’ left arm is lobbed off completely, her stump aching painfully. She rubs at it, lifting her gaze up to the balcony.

She ducks behind the half-wall, focusing on the spot and teleporting. She appears above the balcony, falling a short distance when the back of her her shirt gets caught on something. Freezing in place for a moment, Zelda looks behind her back to see a spear hook protruding from the wall. Others sit next to her head, nearly piercing her skull through, and she gulps lightly.

To make matters worse, teleporting had ended the camouflage. The only reason she hasn’t been spotted yet is because of the Sheikah clothing. She prepares another teleport when she sees a shape move below her and she freezes again, eyes widening as a young girl leans on the balcony railing to watch the training.

Zelda’s heart pounds as her mind races, unsure of what to do. It will not be long before she is spotted, even with the cover of darkness the Gerudo have sharp senses. They’ll most likely kill her on sight; the mysterious girl who showed up out of nowhere and asked about the chief.

Then her ears flick back when she hears a tear. Her face falls and she snaps her head around, mentally cursing out the Gods as the spear slowly breaks the shirt. She looks back down, then her heart jumps to her throat when she sees the girl looking up at her. With the firelight coming from the room inside, she can see her bright green eyes dancing with amusement. She wears a long gold dressing gown with a green trim and has hair that reaches her feet.

_She can’t be more than twelve._

“You are, without a doubt, the worst assassin I’ve ever seen,” despite how young she looks, the girl has a mature voice. She speaks in a whisper, which makes Zelda confused, and then Zelda stifles a yelp when the final tear sends her falling to the ground. She lands hard on her tailbone, then a foot presses into her chest and pushes her onto her back. A crossbow bolt is pointed at her face as the girl looks down at her, still amused.

“Tell me why you’re here and I might not shoot you.”

“I didn’t sneak in to hurt anybody,” Zelda says quickly, knowing that it sounds like a lie. “Really. I wanted to come in earlier this week, but the guards wouldn’t let me. I need to speak with the chief about an urgent matter.”

The girl’s eyebrow raises slightly. She is quiet for a few moments, then steps off Zelda. She motions for her to stand with the crossbow and the Hylian scrambles to her feet. The girl is a few inches shorter than her.

“Why do you need to speak to our chief?” the girl asks this slowly with caution.

“It’s about Vah Naboris,” Zelda tells her, glad someone will listen. “I know a way to bring it to our side.”

“...You are not kidding around with me, are you?” the girl narrows her eyes. “We’ve tried to stop it many times. Any attempts ended in failure, as you can see,” she looks to the south and Zelda follows her gaze. “If anyone even managed to get into it, they never returned. Dead, most likely.”

They watch Vah Naboris’ rampage in silence.

“I can’t believe you have good intentions,” the girl finally says. “I trust you won’t hurt me, you would have already, but you need to go. I won’t tell anyone about you, but you’d best hope you don’t get caught before you leave.”

“There’s really nothing I can do to earn your chief’s trust?”

The girl lets out a soft snort. “Nothing short of destroying the Yiga,” she mutters quietly, almost as if she is thinking aloud.

“I see,” Zelda says quietly. Without another word, she takes the Sheikah Slate off her belt with telekinesis and taps the Kay Noh Shrine near the stable. She gives a final nod to the surprised girl as blue light envelopes around her.

When she appears at the Shrine, she casts Mipha’s Grace to get rid of any exhaustion.

The memory of the two distraught Gerudo plays in her head as she takes out her spell book.


	10. The Yiga Clan's Master

Outside the ruined stables, Zelda sits meditating on a rock. A circle of sand floats around her, a glow surrounding each grain. Her concentration wavers when her ears twitch, and she knocks three times on the rock with her prosthetic.

When she opens her eyes, she is met with three Yiga surrounding her. She lets go of the sand and lets a cloud form around her, casting the camouflage spell and detaching her prosthetic. She keeps it floating where she had been as she lays next to the rock, back pressed to the ground.

Sparks fly onto her head when metal meets rock. The sand settles and the three Yiga glower at the rock, a sword embedded deep within it.

Zelda trembles lightly when one of them is standing directly over top her, their foot pressing into her stomach. They step off heavily and she clasps her hand over her mouth to keep from making any sound.

“Gods damn it, where did she go?”

“How did she get so powerful so fast?”

“It doesn’t matter. Search the area.”

“What if she’s left? She can warp with the Sheikah Slate. She could be anywhere in Hyrule by now.”

“She won’t be. Master knows she won’t leave the desert until she completes her task. Or dies trying.”

The three of them chuckle. Zelda just rolls her eyes. Her gaze turns skyward when she sees a shadow and she closes her eyes quickly.

A boulder falls on top one of the Yiga, making them scream in pain as they are pinned underneath from their chest down. The other two leap back as, seconds later, Obsidian jumps down from the cliff above. The dry earth cracks beneath his hooves as he lets out a roar that shakes the ravine, charging at the Yiga closest to him.

They try to dodge, but are taken out in a single swipe of the Lynel’s claws. The other Yiga teleports above him and lands on his back, slashing at his neck with their sickle. He snarls and begins to buck like a horse, but the Yiga holds on tight to his horn and cuts his eyes.

His roar of pain makes Zelda look at what is happening. Despite the bile rising from the two dead or dying Yiga, she focuses on the one hurting Obsidian. She gets on top of the boulder and summons a golden fire ball as big as her head, arcing her arm wide at the Yiga. It hits their side and they fall off Obsidian’s back, rolling in the dirt.

“Wait, Obsidian,” Zelda says when the Lynel goes to tear their chest apart. “Hold them tight, don’t kill.”

His claws dig into their sides and he lifts them up, holding them to Zelda’s height. She looks up at him and finds he can open one eye. “I’ll heal you in a moment,” she tells him before staring at the Yiga. She tears off the Yiga’s mask and is surprised to see a woman not much older than herself. Her head is shaved and her skin is mutilated by scars and burns. “Tell me where your hideout is.”

The Yiga spits in her face. “I won’t be telling you anything. My loyalty to my Master runs deeper than my fear.”

“Obsidian.”

He lets out a low growl as he begins to squeeze the Yiga. Not enough to kill, but Zelda is sure she hears a few bones snap. He releases after a few seconds and the Yiga gasps for air, glaring at Zelda.

“Don’t act so brave. You wouldn’t be so confident if you didn’t have this beast.”

“Of course not, I’m not that stupid. How didn’t you know about him?”

“Our scouts never returned.”

“Good. I was gambling with that surprise. Tell me where your hideout is.”

“You will kill me no matter what, so I refuse to tell.”

“Why are you so loyal to your Master?”

“He is a brave, intelligent and strong warrior! He saw the rise of Calamity Ganon himself! He will get his revenge for how the kingdom treated us, like monsters!”

“You allied yourselves with the Calamity, while kidnapping and murdering innocent people. You _are_ monsters.”

“We were _turned_ into this! Those fools were cowards and liars! Even the Royal Family treated us like heretics. You do not know what it is like to work until you break and beyond, to endlessly tire yourself to exhaustion, only for your achievements to go unnoticed.”

A strong, almost terrifying wave of déjà vu hits Zelda and she stumbles back a bit, her head pounding. She can’t grasp any memories, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Once the wave passes, she looks the Yiga in the eye and feels rage burn within her.

“That’s it? _That_ is why you sold your souls to a demon who doesn’t even give a _damn_ about you? Calamity Ganon will destroy you, too, because he only sees you as pawns. Not to mention your so-called ‘great’ Master himself. If he is _such_ a good warrior, and he wants me dead _so_ badly, why have I not seen him? Why has he sent you all out to _die,_ ” she gestures to the two bodies, “while he stays safe and sound in your hideout?”

“He is far too busy to do such a task.”

“I am his _main_ _target!_ I am the one he’s had you hunting for a century! One big wild Cucco chase that was doomed to fail. You know why? Because I was _asleep._ Oh, right. You thought you were looking for the _hero_. Strange, how could he have seen the fall of the kingdom, yet not know who was sent to the Shrine? Could it be he was hiding like a coward back then, too?”

“Shut up.”

“And to think, I didn’t even have my Lynel for several weeks. I was walking the roads _on foot_ to get everywhere. Why didn’t he come fight me then? I would have been so _easily_ killed. I hadn’t even mastered a good fire spell yet.” It is now that Zelda realizes that she is emphasizing that statement while both of her legs and parts of her hips are coated in flames. She can feel her magic draining quickly, but pays it no mind. “As you can see. Yet, he waited. And waited. Now I’m in the heart of your operations. I’m unwelcome in Gerudo Town and so I’m not protected. You didn’t know about my Lynel, so to you I should have been a lone, easy target.”

“Shut up!”

“Yet despite that, he sends you. Oh, yes, there are three of you. Didn’t exactly help, did it? I’ve become better at magic since he’s waited to come after me himself. So, tell me,” Zelda leans in close to the Yiga and sees her flinch back, “where is your hideout?”

“...It matters not what you think. I am loyal to my Master.”

The fire extinguishes as Zelda lets out a sigh. “Very well. I had not wanted to resort to this, but you leave me no choice. Keep her still.” Zelda closes her eyes for a moment, charging all her magic into them. After a few seconds, she opens them and stares into the Yiga’s eyes.

It hurts to tear through someone’s memory, she discovers as she does just that. She doesn’t go far, only enough to get a sense of where the hideout is. Her magic won’t allow her to go any further. She breaks eye contact and rubs at her eyes, hearing the Yiga gasp in pain.

“You could have told me,” she tells her.

“So what now? Are you going to have your pet kill me, too?”

“No,” Zelda summons a ball of fire, sounding far more confident than she feels. She trembles and her stomach churns, but this something she has to do. She has to kill this Yiga herself. It is the harsh reality that she will be killing people soon, if one could even call them people anymore. If she is unwilling to kill a monster in a human skin, she stands an even slimmer chance against their Master. She grabs the Yiga’s throat tight, the fire scorching her windpipe. She gasps, trying to scream, but she can’t make a single sound.

Zelda grits her teeth and barely manages to keep her eyes open. After a few long seconds, the Yiga at last falls still.

Zelda collapses to her knees, coughing and dry heaving into the dirt. She hadn’t eaten anything all day in preparation for this plan. Obsidian, after tossing the body aside, nudges her gently with a comforting purr. “Thank you,” she pats his nose and heals his face.

“I should leave now before they send more,” she walks over to her discarded prosthetic and frowns at it. After a few seconds of debating, she attaches it and takes control. She won’t be in camouflage forever and she needs as much aid as she can get. “Rest up and clean the area. If you run into any danger, go back to where you fought the Hinox. I’ll meet up with you when I can.”

The Lynel purrs lowly, pulling Zelda into a bone-crushing hug and licking the top of her head. He is still reluctant to let her go, but doesn’t put up as big as a fuss like before. She gives him a good scratch behind the ears before heading out, casting Mipha’s Grace to replenish her strength.

Zelda follows the cliffs until it is well past midnight, coming to a stop at an insignificant pillar among dozens. She turns north and walks up to the wall, which looks no different than the last few kilometers of stone. She places her hand on the wall and it feels solid, cold from the night.

She tilts her head as she recalls the Yiga’s memory, then a flurry of paper surrounds her as she uses their spell to teleport into the cliff.

And land inside a hollowed cavern several meters on the other side.

There is a good reason the Yiga have never been found; their hideout can only be accessed through magic. Magic that no one else in Hyrule had, before Zelda awoke.

She shutters a bit after using the Yiga’s teleport. It is denser than her own and she can feel a few paper cuts on her neck and face. She rubs at them absently as she crouches and begins to slink across the wall, ears twitching at every little sound.

There is an entire canyon hidden in the mountains. No sky can be seen as magically-charged gems sit on torches, lighting the way with no need for fire. Zelda doesn’t dare to go near them, as much as her curiosity piques. Along the canyon path are the familiar frog statues of the Sheikah, but with a cloth depicting the Yiga Clan symbol draped over them.

A few Yiga are spotted along the path, but she is able to get by them without even using her camouflage. They are not very alert, but why would they be? To their knowledge, no one else knows about their secret entrance.

A few more minutes pass and she finds a tall entrance without a door. She walks up the stairs into a circular chamber, torches burning and tapestries hanging from the ceiling. There are no clear signs of which way will lead further in, so she just picks one and grabs the tapestry to move it.

Then barely suppresses a yelp when someone on the other side walks out, smacking her with it and shoving her carelessly into the wall. She holds still and hides in the folds as it falls back into place, an extremely tall and muscle-packed Yiga walking away. They don’t notice her, so she checks behind the tapestry before quickly climbing the slope upwards.

The moment she steps into the Yiga hideout proper, she is assaulted by a fowl odour. She cringes and turns a corner to see several cells with metal bars. Skeletons and half-decayed bodies sit in them, the scent of feces and urine pungent. Most of the cells are opened, but there is one that is closed. She slowly approaches and feels her heart skip a beat when she sees a Gerudo leaning against the back wall.

‘Is she breathing?’ She can’t tell from here. She checks around her, then teleports into the cell to crouch beside the body. Even as dark as it is, she can see the woman’s chest rising and falling. Gulping down her growing nausea (‘How long has she been like this?’), Zelda gently shakes the Gerudo’s shoulder.

An elbow slams into her gut for her trouble, hitting her with enough force to send her into the pile of bodies behind her. She muffles her sputters and coughs, holding up her hand when the Gerudo gets to her knees, looking about ready to kill her. Luckily the Gerudo stops short from doing so, giving her a confused tilt of the head.

“...You aren’t Yiga,” she mutters, her voice hoarse and strained.

“N-no,” Zelda gasps, finally able to regain her lost air. “Are you Barta?”

“How do you know my name?”

“I heard it from the city. I’m here to rescue you.”

“Are you crazy, kid?” she whispers harshly, grabbing the front of Zelda’s shirt and pulling her face close. “These people will kill you. How did you even get here?”

“Methods I do not wish to talk about.” She feels her stomach rebel at the thoughts. She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter. I can get you out of here.”

“There’s no way,” she lets out a bitter laugh, that then turns into a cough and she sets Zelda down. “You couldn’t possibly-”

Zelda’s head turns to the cell bars as she tenses, hearing someone approach.

“Hide behind me,” Barta whispers and shifts a bit away from the wall. Zelda tucks into a ball behind her and bites her lip anxiously.

“Hey, Gerudo, dinner time.” A cruel voice snickers as there is a loud clatter. Their laugh echoes down the hall as they leave and Barta sighs.

“You should go, kid. They have patrols looking after me every few minutes, they’ll notice instantly if I go missing.”

Zelda looks around Barta and stares at the ‘food’, shaking her head. What they’re feeding Barta is more like vomit on a plate. She looks back to Barta and sees bruises, open wounds and brands on the Gerudo’s skin. “I can’t leave you to die.”

“The only way to do that is to kill their master,” she rolls her eyes with a snort. Zelda is glad to see that there is still some fight left in her.

“Then I’ll do that.”

“That would be suicide, kid. Kohga won’t care how young you are, he will murder you after torturing you for weeks.”

“I have to do something,” Zelda says desperately. “Someone has to end them.”

“We’ve tried all we can,” Barta sighs tiredly, suddenly grabbing Zelda and easily flipping her over her shoulder. She gently pins Zelda down by the shoulders and shakes her head. “If you can’t even stand up to me, beaten and weak, there’s no way you can face Kohga.”

Zelda frowns, eyes glowing and lifting Barta into the air to sit up. Barta blinks in surprise as she is sat back down gently, staring at Zelda with wide eyes. “You know magic?”

“I _need_ to end Kohga. He’s terrorized Hyrule for too long. Is there anything you can tell me that will help me kill him?”

“...He’s arrogant. For good reason, mind you, but you might be able to exploit it.”

Footsteps approach again. Zelda hides behind Barta and hears the gate open, then close without the Yiga saying anything. When she peaks around the plate is gone. “Sorry I lost you a meal.”

“It was shit anyway,” Barta shrugs, then sighs. “What I wouldn’t give for a durian.”

Zelda doesn’t know what a durian is, but she reaches into her Sheikah Slate and pulls out several apples. “You can have these,” she offers, wishing she could have saved Mipha’s Grace for Barta. She has gotten so used to using it on herself she didn’t even think of the possibility that Barta would need it more. A selfish and stupid thought in hindsight.

“Thank Hylia,” Barta whispers, taking the apples gingerly, as if they would vanish. “...Good luck, kid. This place is crawling with the bastards. Take your time and hide if you hear someone. I can last off of these for a few days,” she bites into one, physically sagging in content. “Now go.”

Zelda nods, making sure it is safe outside before teleporting out.

She casts her camouflage spell, hoping the darkness of the cavern will hide her prosthetic, and presses herself to the wall walking down a slope. At the bottom are three different corridors to follow, making Zelda scratch her cheek. They all look the same and she is aware there will probably be traps set up to alert the Yiga of intruders.

‘I’ll need to practice that mind reading spell. I’d know where to go otherwise,’ Zelda thinks, although she doesn’t look forward to the task. She had to put both herself and Obsidian through a lot of headache and pain before she got it right. The poor Lynel had avoided her for an entire day afterwards.

A lean Yiga suddenly runs out from the corridor on her left, narrowly missing Zelda as they curse under their breath. Zelda gets closer to the wall, heart pounding as they run out of sight.

A moment later one of the bigger clan members rounds the corner, coming to a stop right in front of Zelda as he shouts, “You were supposed to be there hours ago! If something happened to them because your lazy ass slept in, it’ll be your head!”

Zelda’s ears ring at the volume of his yelling as he turns around, cursing loudly. He takes a step forward, then punches the wall right above Zelda’s head. Her entire body seizes up, luckily saving her from making a sound, while the fist leaves an indent in the stone. Pebbles fall on Zelda’s head and she can’t help but tremble. The Yiga stalks awaywithout noticing her prosthetic.

Zelda slowly slides to the ground, shaking. ‘Come now, calm down. He didn’t spot you. He was blinded by rage. He is walking away now.’

Not even five minutes inside the hideout and they already almost kill her by accident.

She shakes her head violently and uses the wall to stand. She looks down to ensure her spell is still active and takes a whim, going right. The corridor is long and leads to a doorway with decorative pillars. She peaks inside to see a mostly empty training room. The few Yiga who are here are either lifting heavy rocks onto their backs or swinging from rings attached to the ceiling.

Next to the door, two Yiga talk as they relax on a bench. “What was he shouting about now?”

“One of the new kids was supposed to go with the scout team to corner the Princess,” the other shrugs. “I think he was supposed to hide and observe, but he slept in.”

“New recruits are useless. Why do we send them out like that?”

“How _else_ do we weed out the weak?”

Zelda leans away, heart pounding. She hadn’t questioned it at the time, but she had expected more members when she was acting as bait. Now she knows she just got lucky. Although she’s aware it won’t last. The Yiga who just left will be at the stable soon and see only a Lynel gnawing on bones.

Meaning she only has a limited time before they realize she might be here.

She quickly does the calculations while walking away from the training room. She probably only has until morning before the Yiga returns, unless they’re dumb enough to approach Obsidian. She kind of doubts it, though.

Coming back to the splitting paths, she decides to go where the Yiga had come from. After a short walk ending in a flight of stairs, she comes into an open area with boxes and barrels of food. Several Yiga patrol the area, the tall muscled members walking the floor as the lean members hide on scaffolds and pillars.

‘Now why would the ones in the canyon be at ease, but these ones are alert? Did I trigger an alarm like I feared?’

She waits for the nearest patrol to leave her view before coming out, quickly getting into the shadows of a tall, square pillar. She teleports to the top and gets a better look around, seeing another decorative doorway a floor down and to the left. It is guarded by two muscled Yiga, each carrying a long curved blade.

She decides to call them by Blades and Sickles to make things simple. She’s just happy she hasn’t encountered any Blades in the wild, yet. They look a lot harder to deal with.

She watches the Blade below leave the area then teleports down between two barrels. A Sickle Yiga walks by without a glance in her direction. She gets out and remains close to the ground, using the crates for cover. She jumps slightly when a Sickle jumps down from the rafters above, landing on the crate just behind her. She looks up in panic, but they aren’t looking at her.

After a few seconds, they jump from the box and vanish from sight. Zelda lets out the breath she had been holding and sneaks out again, getting into the sights of the guarded doorway. She quickly looks around, then teleports behind them and rolls to the side, back pressed against the wall.

They don’t move. Zelda sneaks forward to a carved out door and peaks in, finding a decorative chamber with supply crates. There are more rafters above, made sturdier, and only Blades patrol the area.

She ensures she isn’t noticed, then teleports to the rafters. The area is completely shadowed, so she lets her camouflage fall to recover a bit of magic. She carefully walks in a crouch, keeping her eyes on the floor with the occasional glance up. The Yiga are none-the-wiser as she comes to a single guard. She recasts camouflage and teleports, quickly going down the short hallway into what appears to be a sleeping quarters. All the beds are empty and there aren’t any traces of Yiga, but it’s also a dead end.

She spots a key on aside table and takes a step forward, then suppresses a yelp when she stubs her toe on something buried in the ground. With a frown she turns on Magnesis to see a chest, but there is also an entire wall of metal next to her, painted to look like the rest of the wall.

She takes the key, which she suspects opens the cells, and leaves the chest alone. She pulls at the metal door to find it rotates open.

The wall leads into a circular arena that opens into the sky. She blinks and shields her eyes when stepping into the morning light. ‘I didn’t realize I was in there all night,’ she thinks, looking out for any signs of Kohga. She is grateful she won’t have to fight him in the dark.

The arena has a large hole in the center with a slightly declined ground going towards it. Curiously, on the other side of the arena she spots something left on a clothing stand.

“So you’ve arrived at last.”

She whirls around at the voice, getting into a mediocre fighting stance at the sight of Master Kohga. He is as tall as his Blades, with a burlier build honed from so many decades. His mask is different as well, with decorative horns that make it seem like a crown. His arms are crossed as he regards Zelda.

“I must admit that I did not expect you to be standing here today, Princess. I had been looking forward to fighting the legendary Hero. You are...a disappointment. Although,” he sounds extremely smug, “I suppose you already were.”

She doesn’t say anything in reply. He chuckles lowly.

“You truly came here to fight me? You, the little scholar?”

“Me, the little scholar,” Zelda narrows her eyes.

Kohga regards Zelda for a moment, then teleports. She remains still and alert, diving to the side when she hears paper above her head. She swings her prosthetic, but Kohga jumps over it and kicks her in the stomach. She rolls in the dirt, winded, then teleports when he tries to smash her head in.

She stumbles after landing and coats her arm in flames. The words ‘be clever’ repeat in her head as Kohga teleports again. When he appears she releases a fireball into his face, but it doesn’t do anything. He jumps through the smoke and grabs her wrist, throwing her into the air. She teleports before he can follow it up with a kick, landing several meters away.

Kohga chuckles when he lands, taking out a knife and throwing it at her. She catches it in telekinesis and sends it back, grazing his shoulder. He rushes forward, faster than she can react, and knees her in the gut before uppercutting her jaw.

She is flipped onto her back, then teleports far into the air before he can do anything. She pulls out two bows, hovering them beside her as she rains down bomb arrows onto Kohga’s head. After the onslaught she teleports further up, effectively dodging Kohga when he leaps from the smoke, his clothes scorched and one horn from his mask broken.

He teleports above her and she flips herself, levitating several daggers at him. He dodges them and a blue mist surrounds his hands. The mist hits Zelda on her left shoulder, turning it into ice instantly. She grits her teeth as her stump screams from the pain, the port burning against her skin. She teleports back to ground, but slips onto her side. Ice now covers the ground.

She hears Kohga laugh above her and barely has enough time to stand when Kohga lands. She wobbles, but manages to send a wide wall of fire around herself and Kohga. He cackles, his freezing spell hitting her feet and solidifying them to the ground. He quickly runs at her and kicks her twice in the chest, the ice breaking as she slams onto her back.

She sits up and levitates the Sheikah Slate to her face, selecting Cryonis and forming an ice block in front of herself. She quickly picks a spherical bomb as Kohga laughs and breaks through the ice, the bomb going off in his face. He flips backwards and while he recovers, Zelda notches a shock arrow onto a bow and levitates it into the air.

Kohga rushes Zelda, but she teleports at the last second while firing the arrow. The arrow strikes the melted ice and engulfs Kohga in lightning, making him scream. Zelda lands a few moments after the shocks end and fires more bomb arrows at him. Dust and smoke rise, hiding Kohga from view.

Then a boulder comes barrelling out. Zelda barley dodges it, feeling it nudge her prosthetic.

Kohga levitates out of the smoke, two boulders floating next to him with no visible aura. “It appears I’ve underestimated you, Princess.”

Zelda sees no reason to reply, so she heals her frostbitten shoulder instead. Kohga makes an irritated snort, then sends both boulders at her. She’s able to stop one with her own telekinesis and teleports to dodge the other.

A third boulder slams into her back, making her roll over the dirt pass the edge of the pit. She teleports quickly and lands heavily on her prosthetic, her back and side already bruising. She struggles to stand and another boulder flies at her. She catches it and, with a grunt, sends it back.

Kohga doesn’t have time to react, so is struck in the face. He skids back, the boulder turning to dust around him.

Zelda prepares herself for his next attack, but her body suddenly becomes rigid. She is brought into the air, then slammed into the ground several times before she is thrown across the entire arena. She hits a wall with her right arm taking the brunt of it and feels it snap from the impact. She falls to the ground and grits her teeth, slowly pushing herself to stand. Her right arm burns and she casts a quick healing spell, at the very least numbing it.

A shadow falls over her and she teleports out of the way of the next boulder, but is stopped part-way due to the pain. She falls to one knee, letting her prosthetic fall limp so she has a bit more magic to utilize.

She rises to her feet and fixes Kohga with a stare as he begins to laugh manically, head thrown back to the sun. She is unsure what he finds so humorous, but she tenses when he throws his arms in the air and summons an absolute giant metal boulder. It slams into the ground and is sent her way.

Heart pounding in her ears, Zelda forgets all pain as she raises her hand, a surge of power coursing through her. Her aura surrounds half of the boulder and stops it in the air, her feet leaving grooves in the dirt as she is pushed back by the force.

“Hmm, impressive,” Kohga says, beginning to walk forward and shoving the boulder, and Zelda, back. “You are very powerful.”

The boulder suddenly rushes at her and she can’t dodge it in time. It slams into her and she falls onto her back, only lucky enough for a spike to narrowly miss her. Blood gushes from her nose and mouth as many bones in her body scream in pain. She flinches when the boulder crashes behind her, barely missing her head.

Kohga stands over her, blotting out the sun. “But what is raw power when compared to a century of experience and training?”

He grabs her prosthetic by the wrist and lifts her up, bringing her to his face. Her port pinches her stump as Kohga turns around, walking towards the pit. “I admit, given a few more years and you could have put up a worthy fight. I’ve never met someone who had the potential to be as good as me.”

He holds her out above the open pit, the strain on her port increasing. She grasps at his forearm with her right hand, her eyes flicking behind him when she notices movement. The boulder is beginning to roll towards them from the slight decline of the ground.

She needs to distract him. To be clever. To use his arrogance against him.

“I’m..better,” she gasps, making him chuckle.

“How could a failure compare to me? I am the Master of the Yiga, the ultimate assassin and the best mage in Hyrule.”

The boulder is extremely slow.

“I am better... _because_ of my failure. It’s made me...stronger. Can you say the same...for your own failures?”

“Bah! I have never failed in my life!”

“...You failed to kill me...one hundred years ago...”

“You were heavily guarded by the Champions. Does it really matter now, when I am about to kill you at last?”

“You...could have...killed me the last...few months...”

“I had to find out where the Hero went to hide. He is a target, too.”

“No scouts...came back.”

“They were failures.”

The boulder is getting close. Zelda’s heart pounds as she feels the last of her power charging.

“Face it...Kohga...you are a failure. Just. Like. Me.”

The shadow of the boulder finally falls over them and Kohga looks over his shoulder. Zelda teleports, and it _hurts_. Her broken bones and cuts burn terribly and she barely feels herself hit the ground. She certainly hears the loud, terrified screams fill the canyon. They are abruptly cut short when bones are crushed, their echo bouncing off the walls.

Zelda lets herself lie there for a few moments, until the echoes stop. She opens her eyes and sits up, shivering from exhaustion as bile rises up at the sight of Kohga’s remains. She pukes up stomach acid only, then dry heaves for several minutes before she can get herself to stop. She continues to cough and wheeze while forcing herself to her feet.

Her attention falls on the strange clothing rack she had seen before the fight. She staggers her way over, tilting her head when she reaches it. A strange helmet sits on top, made of gold and decorated in jewels. It doesn’t seem to be easy to see through, but something about is extremely familiar.

She has an inkling that this does not belong to the Yiga. She takes it off the rack and shivers as a wave of déjà vu hits her, but not enough to trigger a memory. She can feel one on the edges of her mind, but isn’t sure why she can’t grasp it.

Shaking her head, she stores it in her Sheikah Slate and leaves the arena behind, tensing for any possible attacks.

Only to find the entire hideout abandoned.

She limps through the eerily quiet cavern, clenching the key to the cells in her hand as she walks up to Barta. The Gerudo stares at her with wide eyes, all the apples turned to cores.

It seems she hadn’t been able to help herself.

“Kid...you did it?”

Zelda can’t bring herself to speak, so she simply nods and begins to fumble with the lock. Her arm begins to burn again, but she can’t gather any magic to heal it. Her hand shakes badly until dark brown hands hold it. Barta gently takes the key from her and fiddles with the lock herself, nearly breaking the hinges when opening it.

“Come on, kid, let’s go back home,” Barta smiles, putting an arm around Zelda’s shoulders. Unfortunately, Barta stumbles and knocks Zelda over, mumbling an apology. “I’m...not as strong as I wish...”

“Support...” Zelda murmurs, standing and offering her hand. Barta shakes her head with a light laugh, getting to her feet herself.

“...If you say so, kid.”

Supporting one another, they slowly make their way out of the hideout and through the canyon. Barta is visibly confused when they reach the ‘dead end’ and Zelda sighs, grabbing her hand and trying to focus as hard as she can. A tiny flicker of magic can be felt and she uses it to teleport them out, giving them both a fair amount of paper cuts.

Barta says nothing, too exhausted to question it.

Then the Gerudo passes out, her arm taking Zelda down with her. Zelda spits sand out of her mouth and groans at the heavy weight. She wiggles free and rubs at her face, trying to think about how they can get back.

She stares at Barta, knowing that the Yiga could come after them any minute. With a heavy sigh, Zelda gets in front of Barta and pulls at her arm, turning so that it rests on her shoulder. She awkwardly pulls the other up and grunts, taking a step forward and promptly falling over.

She lets out a curse as she looks around, then checks the Sheikah Slate for anything. She perks up when she notices a trio of Deku Leaves. She takes them out and places them beside Barta for measurement, then nods to herself. She lays one on the ground and gets on the other side of Barta, struggling to turn her over onto the leaf.

It takes several failed attempts, but eventually Zelda manages to get Barta on. She secures the Gerudo with a second leaf, then ties the two on the ground to the third. She punctures a couple of holes into the leaf and slips it over her head, wearing it like a cloak and securing it around her torso as best she can.

Then she begins to walk.

Her mind quickly enters a dreary haze as she slowly drags Barta across the sand. Her footsteps are heavy, sinking deep into the dunes, and she falls onto her face several times. She barely feels like she’s moving at all, but she tries not to think about it and focus on just moving.

The sun beats down on her and she can feel her skin burn as sweat drenches her, doing little to cool her down. Her vision darkens around the edges and she sees blurry images on the horizon.

She wishes she had not told Obsidian to wait for her. He’d be able to carry them both.

She wishes she had remembered to activate the Sheikah Shrine near Gerudo Town. She could have sent Barta there and walked back alone.

She wishes she hadn’t taken so long inside the hideout. This would have been easier at night.

She wishes a lot of things. But since when has simply wishing ever worked?

After many hours, Zelda trips and finds it too difficult to get back up. She groans, lifting her gaze. At first she thinks she imagines the Gerudo stalking angrily towards her, but then a hand grabs her by the hair and lifts her up. She can’t find the strength to struggle.

“How did you find her? Only Yiga knew where she was being held!” the grip on her hair tightens and she feels a cold blade on her neck.

“Halt, Vera! Don’t harm her!”

Zelda is placed on her feet, then collapses forward. Arms catch her and she bleary blinks towards Barta, who is quickly being helped. She relaxes, then is picked up by someone _very_ tall.

“What happened?” the balcony girl asks.

“...Kohga...dead...” Zelda manages to mumble, heavy eyes starting to close.

“What?! He is? How? Did-did you fight him?!”

“...Yes. Can I...speak...to your...chief now...?”

The world fades away.


	11. A Legend Come to Life

_**Dressed in an azure dress, Zelda stood before the Gerudo throne, where the** _ _**Chief** _ _**sat with a** _ _**stoic expression. “Princess of Hyrule,” the Chief addressed her. “I accept your proposition without hesitation. Not only are they planning to resurrect Calamity Ganon, the Yiga Clan is also after our treasured heirloom,” the Chief looked to the Thunder Helm to her right, then back to Zelda. “You have my word, I won’t rest until Calamity falls.”** _

“ _ **Gerudo Chief Urbosa, on behalf of Hyrule and its king, sarqso,” Zelda said with a deep bow.**_

_**Hours later, in the quiet of night, Zelda and Urbosa laugh as they walk outside of the walls of Gerudo Town. “I’ve never seen you so serious, Urbosa!” Zelda looked to her with a wide grin.** _

“ _ **I can’t say the same. Ten years ago you rarely smiled, my little vure,” Urbosa said gently as two men passed by them.**_

“ _ **Urbosa, I feel like you’ve called me little bird before. I was wondering where you got that name from,” Zelda kept walking, but then noticed Urbosa had stopped. Turning around, she saw Urbosa was side-eyeing the men.**_

“ _ **Halt. Face me,” she demanded, a hand going to her scimitar. The men stopped, turning to do as she said. “Unlike you traitors, I prefer to fight my enemies head on.”**_

_**The men gave each other a look as Urbosa brandished her scimitar. “Do your worst!” she proclaimed as Zelda backed off a bit.** _

_**The Yiga revealed sickles and ran towards them, their disguises falling.** _

_**The first rushed Urbosa, each parrying the other’s blow perfectly, until Urbosa pulled up her shield and matched the strike. She pushed, knocking the Yiga back harshly. With a grin, Urbosa knocked the blunt of her weapon into his gut, sending him to the ground.** _

_**She sheathed her shield and raised her hand as the other jumped at her from behind.** _

“ _ **Urbosa!” Zelda cried in panic.**_

_**Urbosa snapped her fingers and a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky, striking the Yiga directly. He fell into the sand unconscious. “Hmph, out of respect for our princess, you may keep your lives,” Urbosa declared, looking at them from over her shoulder. The Yiga fled, vanishing in a cloud of smoke and paper. Zelda watched, fascinated. Once they were gone, Urbosa turned to Zelda. “You asked me why I call you little vure. When you were but a small child, my dear friend called you that, with the sweetest smile that ever graced our land of Hyrule.”** _

“ _ **You mean Mother,” Zelda’s voice broke a bit, her eyes burning.**_

“ _ **Ten long years ago, your mother left this world. And yet her little vure still spread her wings and became the beacon of light Hyrule needed.”**_

_**Zelda bit back her tears, but she couldn’t help the small sob escape her. Urbosa walked to her and pulled her into a warm hug. “Sometimes I forget myself, and get lost in the past,” she said, kissing the top of Zelda’s head.** _

-0-0-0-0-

Riju walks down the hall with a cup of water in one hand and a bowl of honey and milk in the other. The mysterious girl who had saved Barta has been asleep for nearly two weeks now, and the first few days they weren’t sure if she would make it. Luckily it seems the girl is strong, so she has since come out of critical condition, but has yet to stir.

Everyone is confused about the whys and the hows. Why this girl showed up in the desert, why she snuck in to speak to the Chief, why she tracked down and entered the Yiga Clan’s hideout. How she got through without being detected and how she killed Kohga, the man who had been destroying Hyrule in the Calamity’s absence.

Riju feels immense guilt over it all. She hadn’t meant to speak aloud when talking to the girl, implying that the girl risk her life for the Gerudo. Riju had _wanted_ to trust her, she knew the girl wasn’t lying, but in these times trusting anyone is dangerous. Not every bad person is part of the Yiga Clan.

And all this adds another ‘why’ to the pile. _Why_ would this complete stranger go through so much effort to gain the Gerudo’s trust? The last time a stranger arrived in the desert, Riju had only been ten. Back then they had still let any outside woman into the city, but then the disguised bounty hunter killed her mother.

Riju shutters, pausing outside the door to her bedroom as the horrid memories return. Even after five years she can still see her mother’s shocked face. Smell the blood and iron in the air. Hear her own screams bouncing off the walls as she watched the knife plunge into her mother’s chest-

“Lady Riju?”

A hand rests on her head and she looks up at Buliara. Her bodyguard gives her that small, rare smile she only shows to her. Riju offers a wobbly smile and wipes her eyes on her shoulder. “I’m okay. Lost in thought.”

Buliara nods silently.

“How is she doing?”

There is a gasp from within the room and Riju puts on her professional mask before stepping in. It takes all her might not to smile at the mysterious girl as she wakes up, rubbing the stump where her arm ought to be. It had been difficult to get the strange prosthetic off, but now it just sits on the bedside table.

The stranger massages her shoulder, looking around the room with a small frown.

“Good, you’re finally awake,” Riju says, catching her attention.

The stranger’s deep green eyes blink at Riju, then widen in recognition. She pushes herself to sit up and leans on the wall. She and the stranger study one another before Riju speaks up.

“How are you feeling?”

The stranger tries to reply, but only lets out a rough squeak. Riju tries not to laugh when she blushes, but she can’t help a single snort from escaping her. “Here,” she offers the cup of water. The stranger’s eyes light up and she takes it with a dip of her head, drinking it all in only a few gulps.

“Sarqso,” she says. Riju raises an eyebrow, wondering how a Hylian knows the Gerudo language. “I still hurt a bit, though. Is Barta okay?”

Riju can’t hold back a laugh this time. “You nearly died and you ask how Barta is? She is fine. She recovered after a few days and returned to guard duty yesterday. We tried to get her to rest more, but she’s stubborn. You, however, have been asleep for almost two weeks.”

The stranger’s eyes widen and she slowly looks at her lap. “Oh.”

“‘Oh’ indeed. You were in critical condition for a couple of days and we thought we would lose you, but you managed to pull through. You’re a strong one,” Riju’s smile quickly becomes a frown and she looks out to the balcony. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“I am grateful for what you did to save Barta, but you almost died because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. If I hadn’t said anything you wouldn’t have gone after the Yiga Clan by yourself.”

“I still would have.”

“W-what?” Riju looks back at her in shock.

“I had heard what happened to Barta before getting to the balcony. I was going to try and stop the Yiga no matter what after that. It was my choice to go and my choice to stay. Trust me, Barta tried to talk be out of it.”

“She told us that, yes. Why didn’t you come get m-our warriors after finding where they were?” Riju mentally curses at the slip, but the stranger doesn’t seem to catch it. Or at least she doesn’t make anything of it. Riju wants to keep her title a secret for just a little longer, she’s been preparing for the reveal for weeks.

“There wasn’t enough time to do both. If I had come back here then the Yiga would have been waiting for me. I know it was stupid and reckless, but Kohga had to die. In the end, I was able to defeat him and save Barta. I don’t regret it, even if my body does.”

“I’ll ask how you killed him later, because I’d love to hear it,” Riju says darkly. “Sarqso. We are in your debt.”

“No, this was me repaying a debt I owed.” Riju is confused, but she doesn’t comment. The stranger shifts. “I hope you don’t mind me repeating myself, but may I speak to your Chief? It is very urgent.”

Riju expertly suppresses a grin and nods. This is the moment she’s been waiting for. “Yes, I’ll go get her for you.” She sets the bowl down next to the arm and turns around, walking towards the door.

Then, when she just steps out, she spins right back around and enters again. She smirks at the girl’s confused expression, then bows her head. “Hello, I am Riju, Chief of the Gerudo.”

The girl’s face is a priceless payoff to Riju’s plan. She turns bright red, her ears pin downward, her eyes widen and her mouth hangs open just a bit. “O-oh!” she stutters, avoiding eye contact and scratching her scarred cheek. “I hadn’t realized.”

“That was kind of the point,” Riju sits down on the edge of the bed. “It was how I knew I could trust you weren’t Yiga. Aside from when you were hanging like a decoration,” she winks at the stranger, who flushes deeper. Riju laughs lightly. “While I knew you wouldn’t hurt anyone, I still couldn’t put faith in a stranger.”

“That’s understandable.”

“You told me you wanted to stop Vah Naboris. How could you manage to do such a thing?”

“I have this,” the girl picks up the strange little device from the other bedside table. None of the Gerudo wanted to accidentally break it, so left it alone. “With it, I can take control of the Divine Beasts. All I need to do is get on them and solve a few puzzles, then kill the Blight that lives within.”

“You sound very confident in this. Why?”

“I’ve already done it once, with Vah Ruta in Zora’s Domain.”

Riju remembers hearing a report about how the rain up north stopped suddenly. She has spies hidden across the land to keep an eye on things, so is more aware of what is happening in the kingdom than the rest of Hyrule believes. Still, she had never known how it had stopped.

“ _You_ did that?”

“With the aid of Prince Sidon,” the girl nods.

“That’s...incredible,” Riju says lightly. She gives the stranger a look, frowning a little. “Who... _are_ you?”

“My name is Zelda.”

Riju stares, her mind both frozen and running wild at the same time. How can this be?

“As in... _Princess_ Zelda?” Riju asks, a grin spreading across her face despite herself.

The girl, Zelda, tilts her head with a small nod. “Um, well, yes. But how-?”

“This is amazing!” Riju stands quickly, accidentally knocking the bedside table. The bowl falls to the ground, but she pays it no mind, far too excited about what she just heard. “You’re really Princess Zelda? The same one from a hundred years ago?”

“Y-yes, but how do you know about me?”

“Every Gerudo knows about you! You and Lady Urbosa are legends!” Without thinking, Riju grips Zelda’s hand. “I just-I can’t quite wrap my head around it! This is so surreal! This is fantastic! But...” Riju’s excitement dies down, “how are you still alive?”

“I was put into stasis after getting fatally injured. I only woke up about...” she pauses to do the mental math, her face melting into disbelief after a few seconds. “I woke up about two months ago...”

“So you’ve been asleep all this time. All the stories said you went to Hyrule Castle to stop the Calamity, and that it was the Hero who vanished.”

“Yes, those were lies spread by my friends to keep me safe from the Yiga.”

“That was a smart plan. Could you tell me what Hyrule was like before the Calamity?” Riju asks hopefully.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t remember,” Zelda looks down. “Being in stasis for so long took my memories. I’ve only been able to get a few back so far.”

“That sounds rough. Although, this all explains why you were so adamant to talk to me. Unfortunately, there is still a problem,” Riju sighs, letting go of Zelda’s hand and beginning to pace. “The Yiga stole the Thunder Helm from us a few weeks ago. Probably in response to your activity, now that I think about it. Vah Naboris can call down lightning and the Helm is the only way of staying protected. My warriors were trying to locate it when they were ambushed, and we think it might have been destroyed.”

“Do you mean this?”

From out of nowhere, the Thunder Helm sits on Zelda’s lap.

“You found it!” Riju wraps her arms around Zelda’s neck. “Y-you’re amazing!” she lets go and takes the Helm, running her hand across the face. “How did you get it?”

“It was just sitting in the arena where I fought Kohga. It seemed familiar, but I couldn’t remember it until I had a dream last night.”

“I’m glad they didn’t damage it. Where did you have it, anyway?”

“I can store items in the Sheikah Slate.”

Before Riju can ask anymore questions, Zelda’s stomach growls loudly. They both end up laughing, Zelda scratching her cheek sheepishly.

“Let’s get you to the dining hall. Can you stand?” Riju asks, tucking the Thunder Helm under one arm.

“I think so,” Zelda says. She kicks the bed covers off and pushes out of bed, only for her legs to buckle under her. Riju drops the Helm and grabs her arm and shoulder awkwardly, easing her to the ground.

“Is everything alright, Lady Riju?” Buliara enters quickly upon hearing the Helm hit the floor.

“Yes, we’re okay. Just a stumble. Would you like help to walk?” Riju turns to Zelda, then puts her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing. Zelda is staring at Buliara with a red face and wide eyes, her mouth agape. “Zelda?”

She shakes her head and looks at Riju. “Um, yes please.”

“I can help you,” Buliara crouches down to one knee, offering her hand to Zelda.

“Sa-sarqso,” Zelda stutters, taking the hand and looking down at the floor. Buliara holds her steady and lets Zelda lean into her for support. Riju can see her face has become darker and giggles.

They walk through the corridors in silence for a few moments, before Zelda speaks up. “Riju, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how old are you?”

“I’m fifteen.”

“Okay, I mistook you for twelve on the bal-” Zelda stops short, side-glancing at Buliara and gulping quietly. “...At first glance, but thought that I was wrong.”

“I know you were on the balcony. Lady Riju told me.”

“I kind of had to, it’s Buliara’s job to look after me,” Riju explains. “Anyway, I’m fifteen. Why did you think I was younger?”

“Your height, if I’m to be honest, and it was hard to see your face,” Zelda says sheepishly.

“You’re not that might taller,” Riju points out, to which Zelda becomes more sheepish. “Besides, I’m actually at the regular height for a Gerudo my age.”

“Gerudo age differently from Hylians,” Buliara says. “Hylians generally grow steadily, but Gerudo have two growth spurts; one at age ten, then another before they turn sixteen.”

“Yeah! So just you wait, Zelda, in a year I’ll be as tall as Buliara!” Riju lifts her chin happily.

Buliara chuckles. “I wouldn’t go that far, Lady Riju.”

“Hmph. Well, I’ll still be taller than you,” Riju pokes Zelda’s forehead. “Shorty.”

“I could still hit a growth spurt,” Zelda says halfheartedly. Riju laughs, making a mental note about how she has been doing that a lot in the last few minutes.

“You won’t.”

Zelda frowns lately and Riju grins back cheekily.

They enter the dining hall, where fruit and bread is already waiting. Buliara helps Zelda sit down, she thanks Buliara, and then walks to the door to stand.

“So, what is that weird arm you had on? It was hard to get off.”

“It’s a prototype made by Purah, a Sheikah scientist. We’re trying to make more advanced prosthetics for everyone, and this is the first in that line. A friend of mine is missing a leg, so she and I are the test subjects. Our next goal is to have the limbs move, but it will take some time to figure out how to get that to work. I can use telekinesis to move my arm, but nobody else can use magic like that. I suppose we’ll also need to make it easier to take them off.”

“That’s a good idea. We could give materials you think might help,” Riju says brightly. “We have a lot of access to gems and metals.”

“That would be nice, sarqso.”

“So how has your adventure been so far? And tell me about Kohga.”

Zelda first tells her how she fought Kohga. Riju is impressed and terrified upon hearing how close Zelda was to dying, even when the princess ensures she is okay. Riju’s guilt comes back and she makes a silent vow to make it up to Zelda, somehow. After Zelda finishes explaining it, she dives into what her journey has been like so far.

“Walking was the hardest part,” she admits after a while. “I suppose I wasn’t so active and it was dangerous with how little magic I knew. Luckily I now have-” she pauses, her eyes widening as something dawns on her. “Oh Gods. I forgot about Obsidian!” she rises to her feet suddenly, bracing herself on the table. Riju stands as well, worried. “We need to go to the stables in the canyon.”

“Who’s Obsidian?”

“My Lynel.”

“Your _what_?!”

-0-0-0-0-

“She _actually_ has a Lynel,” Riju mutters in pure shock. When Zelda had insisted she go to the stable, Riju wouldn’t have her go alone. So Buliara and Barta volunteered to escort Zelda, and Riju wanted to come to see it for herself. Now all they can do is watch as Zelda is hugged and licked by the massive beast, who _purrs_.

“I’m fine, Obsidian,” Zelda says, pushing at his nose. “I see you didn’t do as I told you.” Obsidian just nuzzles his face into hers. She lets out a sigh that turns into a laugh.

The Lynel’s gaze lifts to the three Gerudo and he hugs Zelda closer, making her squirm. “They’re the ones who saved me. We can trust them.”

Obsidian narrows his eyes, then slowly makes his way over to them. Buliara and Barta grip their weapons on instinct, making Obsidian growl lightly and stop.

“Let go of your weapons,” Riju says, surprisingly her bodyguards. They glance at each other, then ease their stances. Riju’s heart pounds as Obsidian stops in front of her, Zelda still in his arms. He lowers his torso, Zelda makes a quiet squeaking noise when she is held upside-down, and sniffs Riju’s front. She remains perfectly still, staring into his yellow eyes for a few tense moments.

Then, he begins to purr again. He opens his maw, his tongue running up Riju’s cheek gently. Riju shivers, then lets out a quiet moan of disgust, wiping her cheek.

“Tell me about it,” Zelda says with a laugh, her hair and face still wet.

“How did you tame him?” Buliara asks as Obsidian sniffs her, too.

“I healed him when he was hurt. I thought he was going to kill me, but it turns out he never had the intention. Which was strange, he had just killed a dozen Bokoblins and a few Moblins beforehand. I’ve been stuck with him since, but it’s been for the best. He’s the only reason I’m still alive.”

Obsidian moves on from sniffing Buliara to licking Barta, who chuckles warmly. “Good boy,” she says, scratching him under his chin. She tilts her head down to get a look at Zelda, who is still upside-down. “Is he normally this friendly?”

“So long as I tell him someone’s a friend. He has full trust in me. Okay, Obsidian can you put me down? I’m getting light-headed.”

He lets out a discontent rumble, straightening and hugging her tighter. “Oh dear. He won’t let me go for a while.”

“I got this,” Riju waves her hand. “Obsidian? I know you missed your Zelda and want her to be safe, but she needs to return to Gerudo Town. Those bad people are still after her, now more than ever,” she points to the bodies. Obsidian growls lowly, squeezing Zelda in worry. Riju nods at him. “Exactly. She will be safer in our hands, I promise you.”

Obsidian looks between Zelda and Riju, then nods. He gives Zelda’s face a final lick, then holds her out to Barta. The Gerudo laughs loudly, taking Zelda from his hands and holding her from under her armpits. When she tries to put her down, Obsidian narrows his eyes. Barta laughs a bit more, nodding and looking at Zelda, who is red up to the tips of her ears.

“You did say in our hands, Lady Riju,” Buliara says, the stoic bodyguard unable to hold back a smirk.

“Sorry, Zelda.”

“I-it’s fine. How did you get that to work?”

“It’s clear he cares about you. I just spun that around so he would put you down. You’re not hurt from that hug, are you?”

“Just a bit sore.”

They begin walk back to Gerudo Town, but find that Obsidian isn’t so ready to have Zelda leave his sights. He follows behind them, despite the disgruntled expression as he crosses the uneven sand. This also makes it impossible for Barta to put Zelda down, because whenever she tries Obsidian just gets anxious.

They return to the town, leaving Obsidian inside one of the empty sand seal paddocks. With a promise he won’t eat any seals, he is full of Yiga and will listen to Zelda, the four return to the palace. Barta leaves to go on guard duty, while Riju guides Zelda back to her room.

“So, can you tell me more about your journey? I want to hear how you freed Vah Ruta,” Riju crosses her legs on the bed, leaning forward. Zelda sits down beside her with a nod.

“If you could tell me more about Urbosa, as well. To be honest, that’s part of the reason I came here. I want to remember her.”

Riju smiles gently. “Of course. We have a lot of books on her and you, it’s how we know so much about you two.”

“Riju, why do you all regard me so well?”

“What do you mean?”

“Everyone suddenly loves me. The guards practically begged for my forgiveness as if I was angry at them, then I’m pretty sure I almost made them cry when I refused to punish them,” Zelda frowns at the memory, while Riju laughs at it.

“Yeah, I won’t be letting Vera forget this for a while. But of course everyone here loves you, you’re Princess Zelda. I told you before that we all know about you and Lady Urbosa. You inspire us all to be strong and wise, to always strive to be better people. See you here, alive and well, is like having a literal legend walking among us.”

“You shouldn’t think so highly of me, Riju,” Zelda looks down in shame, making Riju worry. “You all act as if I am some sort of hero, but I failed to stop the Calamity. The Yiga Clan are only around because of me, too. My very existence has put so many people through so much pain.” She leans forward, clutching her left shoulder and closing her eyes. “You should never strive to be a failure like me.”

“But you _are_ a hero, Zelda. To every Gerudo you are considered one of the bravest, strongest warriors in history. No, don’t say anything,” Riju clamps her hand down on Zelda’s mouth, who blushes lightly. “You aren’t a warrior in the traditional sense, like swinging a sword around, but you have a warrior’s spirit regardless of what you think. You worked yourself to the bone and dedicated all your time to stop the Calamity. Just because you didn’t, doesn’t mean you are a failure. You only would have been a failure if you didn’t try. But by the Gods, Zelda, you _did_ try. To this day, all of us think Hylia should have given you your powers far sooner in your life. So, say it with me,” Riju shifts, placing her hands on either side of Zelda’s head, “You are not a failure.”

“...I-I am not a...a failure,” she says slowly, biting her lip.

Riju smiles, wrapping her arms around Zelda. “See? Was that so hard?”

“...A bit.”

“We’ll work on it,” she promises, leaning away and sitting back down. She notices that Zelda is still blushing and grins widely. “You’ll want to work on that as well. You’ll be in close contact with other Gerudo while you’re learning combat, and they’ll tease you about it relentlessly.”

Zelda buries her face in her hand, groaning lightly.


End file.
